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The  Centennial  Celebration, 


Centennial   History 


TOWN   OF  LEE,   MASS. 


COMPILED    BY 

REV.    C.    M.    HYDE,    D.D 

AND 

ALEXANDER    HYDE. 


PUBLISHED  BY  VOTE  OF  THE  TOWN. 


SPRINGFIELD.  MASS.: 
CLARK    W.    BRYAN   &    COMPANY.    PRINTERS 

1878. 


CONTENTS. 


PAET  I. 

THE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  PAOE- 

Introductory — High  School  Reunion — Mr.  Rice's  address — Prof.  Bar- 
low's address— Mrs.  Frissell's  poem — Miss  Holder's  hymn — Reunion 
dinner  and  speeches — Alumni  association,         .....  3 

CENTENNIAL  DAY. 

Mr.  Garfield's  greeting— Mr.  Canning's  ode— Mr.  Taylor's  address  of 
welcome — Response  of  Mr.  Hyde— Miss  Holder's  anthem — Mr 
Chamber lin's  historical  address — Mr.  Palmer's  poem — At  and  after 
the  dinner — Mr.  Babcock's  poem — Incidents  of  the  day — Mr.  Foote's 
letter — List  of  visitors, 39 


PART  II. 

HISTORY  OF  LEE. 

Prefatory  note— Topographical  description — Early  settlements  in 
Berkshire — Indian  occupants — Hoplands — Hartwood — The  Grants ; 
Williams,  Larrabees,  Glass-works  —  Incorporation  —  Gen.  Lee — 
First  settlers — Organization — Revolutionary  period — Shays'  rebel- 
lion— War  of  1812 — Development  of  manufactures — War  of  seces- 
sion —  37th  regiment  —  49th  regiment  —  Incidents  of  the  war — 
Changes  in  business — Memorial  Hall — Social  life  in  early  days — 
Social  life  in  middle  of  century, 107 

ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 

Congregational  Church— Church  edifices — Congregational  parish — 
Church  at  South  Lee— Methodist  Church— African  Church — Bap- 
tist Church— St.  George's  Church— St.  Mary's  Church,    .         .         .206 

EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

Common  schools — Lee  Academy — High  School— Grammar  School — 

Hopland  School  Corporation,      ........       252 

ADMINISTRATIVE. 

Roads  and  bridges— Repairing  highways— Turnpikes— Pittsfield  and 
Stockbridge  railroad — Lee  and  New  Haven  railroad — Lee  and  Hud- 
son railroad — Town  poor — Cemetery — Fire  district,  .         .         .       261 


°)  o  \  n  \ 


IV  CONTENTS. 


INDUSTRIAL.  page. 

Early  industries — Paper  manufacturers — Samuel  Church — W.  W.  & 
C.  Laflin— John  Nye  &  Co.— Whyte  &  Hulbert— J.  &  L.  Church— 
Platner  &  Smith — Smith  Paper  Co. — Owen  &  Hurlbut — Hurlbut 
Paper  Co. — Harrison  Garfield  &  Benton  Brothers — Chaffee  &  Ham- 
blin— E.  &  S.  May  and  S.  S.  Rogers— P.  C  Baird— James  Gillmor,       275 

OTHER  INDUSTRIES. 

Rag-Engines — Water-  Wheels — Marble — Lumber  — Coal  —  Markets — 

Merchants — Mechanics — Public  houses, 301 

PROFESSIONAL. 
Lawyers — Physicians, 321 

POST-MASTERS.  329 

ASSOCIATIONS. 

Society  for  Promotion  of  Good  Morals — First  town  Library — Lee 
Bank — Savings  Bank — Young  Men's  Association — Cornet  Band 
and  Band  Association — Fern  Cliff  Association — Library  Associa- 
tion— Farmers'  Club — Free  Masons  —Hibernians,     ....       330 

OFFICIAL  AND  STATISTICAL. 

List  of  town  officers,  representatives,  etc. — State  senators — County 
commissioners — Justices  of  Police  Court— Roll  of  honor — Popula- 
lation,  property  and  products — Conclusion, 337 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Rev.  Alvan  Hyde,  D.  1).,      .......  Frontispiece. 

High  School, 6 

Residence  of  Harrison  Garfield,  ........  40 

Residence  of  William  Taylor, 43 

Residence  of  Wellington  Smith, SI 

Residence  of  Alexander  Hyde,     ........  93 

Memorial  Hall, 183 

Residence  of  Dewitt  S.  Smith, 195 

Rev.  Nahum  Gale,  D.  D., 219 

First  Church— built  in  1780, 226 

Second  Church— built  in  1800, 230 

Congregational  Church. 236 

Methodist  Church, 241 

Baptist  Church, 245 

St.  George's  Church  (Episcopal), 249 

St.  Mary's  Church  (Catholic), 251 

Residence  of  Elizur  Smith, 291 

Columbia  Mill  of  Smith  Paper  Company,   ......  293 

Paper  Mill  of  Hurlbut  Paper  Company,       ......  296 

Residence  of  F.  S.  Gross,     . 304 

Residence  of  Dr.  C.  C.  Holcombe, 329 

Residence  of  John  Stallman 342 


PART   I. 

The  Centennial  Celebration 


THE  LEE  CENTENNIAL. 


The  idea  of  celebrating  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of 
the  incorporation  of  Lee,  so  far  as  is  known,  originated 
with  the  late  Rev.  Nahum  Gale,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  church,  who  said,  with  his  characteristic 
humor,  to  the  editor  of  The  Gleaner,  "  In  1877  occurs 
the  Centennial  of  Lee,  and  you  must  blow  for  it."  The 
editor  obeyed  the  injunction  of  his  pastor,  and  the 
subject  was  duly  ventilated  in  the  village  paper.  As  this 
is  an  era  of  Centennials,  it  was  not  difficult  to  create  a 
public  sentiment  in  favor  of  this  local  celebration, 
though,  we  are  sorry  to  add,  the  author  of  the  idea  did 
not  live  to  participate  in  the  social  Reunion  of  the  town 
of  Lee,  which  he  had  anticipated  with  so  much  pleasure, 
and  of  which,  had  his  life  been  spared,  he  would  have 
been  the  soul.  It  is  due  to  Doctor  Gale  to  say,  that  the 
enterprise  was  carried  through  substantially  in  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  blocked  it  out,  when  he  first  made  the 
suggestion. 

At  the  annual  town  meeting  held  in  Lee,  April  3, 
1876,  the  following  vote  was  passed  on  the  article  in  the 
warrant :  "  To  see  what  action  the  town  will  take  with 
reference  to  the  celebration  of  the  hundredth  anniversary 
of  the  incorporation  of  the  town."  "  Voted,  that  the 
town  celebrate  its  Centennial  in  an  appropriate  manner, 
and  that  a  Committee  of  Thirteen  be  appointed  to  make 
all  necessary  arrangements  to  carry  this  vote  into  effect." 
In  accordance  with  this  vote,  a  Committee  of  Three  was 


4  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

named  by  the  chair,  to  select  the  Centennial  Committee. 
This  Nominating  Committee  reported  the  following 
names  : 

Harrison  Garfield,     Charles  Bradley,  Edwin  Sturges, 

E.  S.  May,  Nathan  Gibbs,  H.  C.  Hurlbut, 

Henry  Smith,  John  Branning,  S.  S.  May, 

Elizur  Smith,  Alexander  Hyde,  A.  G.  Hulbert, 

William  Taylor. 

This  report  was  duly  accepted  and  adopted. 

The  Centennial  Committee  was  subsequently  organized 
by  the  selection  of  Harrison  Garfield  as  Chairman, 
Nathan  Gibbs,  Secretary,  and  J.  L.  Kilbon,  Treasurer.  As 
the  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  incorporation  of  the 
town  occurred  late  in  the  season,  (October  18,)  it  was 
voted  that  the  celebration  take  place  Thursday,  Septem- 
ber 13,  and  a  Sub-committee,  consisting  of  Harrison 
Garfield,  Alexander  Hyde  and  William  Taylor,  was  ap- 
pointed to  select  a  suitable  person  to  deliver  the  histor- 
ical address  on  the  occasion,  and  prepare  a  history  of  the 
town  for  publication.  This  committee  made  choice  of 
Rev.  Charles  M.  Hyde,  D.  D.,  of  Haverhill,  Mass.,  as  the 
orator  and  historian,  who  accepted  the  appointment,  and 
soon  commenced  his  investigations  of  the  history  of  the 
town.  Doctor  Hyde  had  covered,  more  or  less  perfectly, 
over  three  hundred  pages  of  historical  notes,  when  he 
was  appointed,  early  in  1877,  by  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M., 
President  of  the  Pacific  Theological  Institute  at  Honolulu. 
The  acceptance  of  this  appointment  necessitated  his 
leaving  the  country,  and  the  committee  selected  Hon. 
Franklin  Chamberlin,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  as  Cen- 
tennial orator,  and  Alexander  Hyde  of  Lee,  to  complete 
the  history  of  the  town,  and  superintend  its  publication. 
Both  these  gentlemen  accepted  and  fulfilled  their  ap- 
pointments. 

At  the  annual  town  meeting  held  April  2,  1877,  there 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  0 

was  an  article  in  the  warrant,  asking  an  appropriation 
for  the  expenses  of  celebrating  the  Centennial  of  the 
town,  and  the  action  on  the  article  was  as  follows  :  Voted, 
"  To  raise  and  appropriate  eight  hundred  dollars  for 
printing  and  publishing  the  history  of  the  town,  and  the 
expenses  connected  therewith."  As  the  law  did  not 
authorize  the  assessment  of  a  tax  for  the  necessary  inci- 
dental expenses  of  the  Centennial  Celebration,  the  com- 
mittee decided  to  defray  these  personally,  the  chairman 
offering  to  advance  the  funds.  We  are  happy  to  add 
that  all  bills  were  promptly  paid  by  Mr.  Garfield,  and 
that  the  subscription  for  his  reimbursement,  on  the  part 
of  the  committee  and  others,  was  cheerful  and  generous. 

A  circular  was  issued  by  the  committee,  March  1, 
1877,  giving  notice  of  the  celebration,  and  inviting  all 
former  residents  of  the  town  and  their  descendants  to  be 
present.  A  thousand  copies  of  this  circular  were  struck 
off,  and  they  were  scattered  widely  but  hurriedly,  not  as 
systematically  as  they  should  have  been,  as  the  com- 
mittee relied  upon  the  community  to  send  them  to  rela- 
tions and  former  neighbors.  By  this  mode  of  dissemination 
some  old  residents  received  several  invitations,  and 
others  none.  All  however  were  invited  to  the  Reunion, 
by  a  standing  advertisement  in  the  columns  of  the  Lee 
Gleaner,  and  if  any  were  neglected  it  was  through  in- 
advertence. 

Sub-committees  on  music,  hospitality,  etc.,  were  duly 
appointed,  and  all  worked  with  a  will,  the  community 
co-operating  cheerfully  and  liberally  to  make  the  occa- 
sion a  success.  The  Lee  Cornet  Band  and  the  Congre- 
gational choir,  volunteered  their  services,  and  labored 
indefatigably  to  make  the  music  worthy  of  the  Centen- 
nial Celebration,  in  which  they  succeeded  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  compliments  flowed  from  all  mouths,  and  to 
the  Band  a  complimentary  donation  of  fifty  dollars  was 


6  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

presented    by  three  of   the  committee,  Messrs.  E.  Smith, 
H.  Garfield  and  W.  Taylor. 

The  caterers  for  the  occasion,  Messrs.  Hall  and  Whip- 
ple, of  Young's  Hotel,  Boston,  deserve  honorable  mention. 
Their  bill  of  fare  was  unexceptionable,  and  the  tent, 
table,  and  all  the  appointments  were  fully  up  to  contract. 
Every  thing  was  done  neatly  and  in  order,  and  if  every 
one  did  not  have  his  fill  of  fat  things,  the  blame  could 
not  be  laid  to  the  caterers,  who  were  guaranteed  pay  for 
only  four  hundred  plates;  but  they  calculated  for  six 
hundred  guests,  and  actually  provided  for  nearly  seven 
hundred.  The  committee  did  not  venture  to  guarantee 
a  larger  number,  as  the  public  were  slow  in  securing  din- 
ner tickets.  The  young  gentlemen  and  ladies  of  the 
town  volunteered  as  waiters  at  the  tables,  and,  dressed 
uniformly  with  white  aprons  and  simple  but  tasteful 
caps,  they  did  themselves  and  the  town  great  credit : 
"  The  post  of  service  is  the  post  of  honor,"  was  a  favorite 
maxim  of  their  late  pastor,  Dr.  Gale,  which  they  well 
illustrated. 

THE    HIGH    SCHOOL    EEUNION. 

Prefacing  the  Centennial  proper,  and  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  it,  that  the  history  of  the  one  is  incomplete 
without  some  short  account  of  the  other,  was  the  Reunion 
of  the  former  teachers  and  pupils  of  the  Lee  High  School, 
and  its  predecessor,  the  Lee  Academy.  This  occurred 
Wednesday,  September  12,  and  the  trysting  place  very 
properly  selected  for  it,  was  Fern  Cliff,  a  rocky,  well- 
wooded  eminence,  at  the  base  of  which  stands  the  High 
School  building.  The  view  from  the  plateau  on  the 
summit  of  this  cliff,  is  one  of  the  finest  of  the  many  fine 
views  in  Lee  and  vicinity,  and  a  comfortable  carriage 
road,  thanks  to  the  present  proprietor,  Thomas  Heaphy, 
makes  access  to  it  very  easy. 


HIGH  SCHOOL. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  7 

The  idea  of  this  Reunion  in  connection  with  the  Cen- 
tennial was  first  suggested  by  one  of  the  many  distin- 
guished alumni  of  the  school,  Prof.  E.  H.  Barlow,  of 
Lafayette  College,  Pennsylvania,  in  a  letter  published  in 
The  Gleaner.  The  suggestion  was  received  with  appro- 
bation by  all  the  graduates  and  by  the  community  gen- 
erally. A  meeting  of  the  ex-members  and  friends  of 
the  High  School  was  called,  at  which  C.  B.  Bullard,  S.  V. 
Halsey,  Mrs.  A.  C.  Sparks  and  Miss  M.  R.  Hyde,  were 
appointed  a  Committee  to  make  arrangements  for  the 
Reunion.  Mr.  Bullard  was  chosen  Chairman,  and  Mr. 
Halsey,  Secretary  of  this  Committee,  and  Sub-committees 
were  selected  from  other  resident  graduates.  A  circular 
was  sent  to  every  former  member  of  the  Academy  and 
High  School  whose  address  could  be  ascertained,  and  the 
responses  were  so  prompt  and  numerous  as  to  encourage 
energetic  preparations.  Prof.  E.  H.  Barlow  was  very 
naturally  selected  as  the  orator  of  the  day,  and  Mrs.  M. 
M.  Frissell  of  Kingston,  N.  Y.,  and  Dr.  W.  Hall  of 
Brookfield,  Mass.,  were  asked  to  prepare  poems  for  the 
occasion. 

The  cordial  co-operation  of  citizens  generally  in  this 
Reunion,  showed  the  high  estimation  in  which  our  princi- 
pal literary  institution  is  held,  and  a  just  appreciation  of 
the  great  service  it  has  done  this  community.  Too  much 
cannot  be  said  in  its  praise,  for  it  has  enabled  parents  to 
educate  their  children  at  home,  who  could  not  afford  to 
send  them  abroad,  and  the  hundreds  of  its  graduates  who 
are  scattered  all  over  the  land,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  and  who  are  most  uniformly  making  their  mark 
in  the  world,  testify  to  the  capacity,  fidelity,  and  high 
moral  tone  of  the  instructors.  As  the  history  of  this 
Academy  and  High  School,  is  the  history  of  one  of  our 
most  important  institutions,  and  is  so  well  told  in  Pro- 
fessor Barlow's  address,  that  no  apology  is  necessary  for 


5  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

incorporating  his  complete  address  in  this  Centennial 
Book. 

Abner  Rice,  the  accomplished  Principal  of  the  High 
School  since  1862,  was  the  fitting  person  to  preside  over 
the  reunion,  and  the  able  manner  in  which  this  duty  was 
performed,  gave  satisfaction  to  all.  The  platform,  on 
which  were  seated  the  president  of  the  day,  the  orator, 
the  former  teachers  of  the  School,  the  clergy  and  others, 
was  beautifully  decorated  with  flowers  and  evergreens, 
and  a  large  audience  of  old  and  present  pupils  and  citi- 
zens, testified  to  the  high  estimation  in  which  this  insti- 
tution is  held.  The  music  was  furnished  by  a  select  choir, 
composed  of  former  pupils  at  the  head  of  whom  was 
John  Delaney,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  music  was 
rendered,  showed  skill  and  thorough  training.  It  may  as 
well  be  said  right  here,  that  singing  has  ever  been  a 
prominent  exercise  in  the  Lee  High  School,  and  under 
the  present  Principal  a  piano  has  been  provided  for  the 
school,  and  increased  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  cul- 
ture of  music. 

Promptly  at  11  o'clock,  Mr.  Rice  called  the  assembly 
to  order,  when  prayer  was  offered  by  President  Andrews 
of  Marietta  College,  the  first  teacher  of  the  Lee  Aca- 
demy. 

MR.  RICE'S  ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  Teachers  and  Alumni  of  the  Lee  Academy 
and  High  School : 
This  is  the  day  of  our  Jubilee ;  we  meet  as  the  members  of  one 
great  family.  We  have  a  history  reaching  back  over  a  period  of  forty 
years,  and  yet  this,  so  far  as  I  am  informed,  is  our  first  family  gath- 
ering. I  have  no  doubt  that  manjr  of  us  are  surprised  to  find,  to  how 
large  and  to  how  respectably-looking  a  family  we  belong.  After 
having  been  so  long  and  widely  separated,  we  may  find  ourselves  to- 
day in  the  embarrassing  predicament  of  the  school-boy,  who  knew  his 
letters  by  sight,  but  could  not  call  them  by  name.  Some  of  us  may 
not  even  recognize  the  faces  of  our  long-absent  brothers  and  sisters. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  » 

The  place  that  om-  Committee  have  selected  for  this  meeting  is  the 
very  one,  I  am  sure,  that  you  all  would  have  chosen.  What  is  there 
so  intimately  associated  in  your  minds  with  your  school-days  in  Lee 
as  the  "  Old  Ledge  ?  "  What  other  spot  could  awaken  so  many 
memories  of  the  past  ?  If  we  could  give  these  rocks  and  trees 
a  tongue,  how  would  the  story  that  they  would  tell  of  other  days, 
thrill  all  our  hearts  ! 

Many  of  you  are  familiar  with  the  circumstances  in  which  this  Re- 
union had  its  origin.  For  weeks  and  months,  our  Centennial  Celebra- 
tion has  been  one  of  the  topics  of  special  interest  to  the  people  of  Lee. 
While  the  preparations  for  this  was  going  forward,  it  was  suggested 
that  there  could  be  no  fitter  time  for  a  reunion  of  the  former  members 
of  the  Academy  and  High  School.  This  suggestion  met  with  a  ready 
and  hearty  response.  The  sentiment  expressed  by  some,  was  that  the 
contemplated  celebration  could  hardly  be  complete  without  it.  Cir- 
culars were  to  be  sent  abroad  inviting  the  absent  sons  and  daughters 
of  Lee  to  the  home  of  their  childhood,  to  review  together  the  history 
of  the  town,  and  to  renew  and  strengthen  the  friendships  of  other 
days ;  and  on  such  an  occasion,  the  friendships  of  school-days,  among 
the  firmest  and  pleasantest  of  our  lives,  should  not  be  ignored. 

Besides,  the  influence  of  this  institution,  during  the  forty  years  of 
its  existence,  in  shaping  the  character  of  this  community,  has  been  of 
sufficient  importance  to  receive  some  formal  recognition.  While  our 
citizens  may  point  with  pride  to  what  they  have  achieved  in  the  de- 
partment of  manufactures  and  other  industrial  interests,  they  need  not 
be  ashamed  of  what  they  have  accomplished  through  their  Academy 
and  High  School,  in  giving  to  the  world  a  nobler  product — men  and 
women — the  only  true  mission  of  every  institution  of  learning.  It 
was  believed  that  such  a  reunion  would  not  end  in  a  series  of  holiday 
festivities,  but  that  it  would  serve  the  higher  purpose  of  impressing 
this  truth  more  deeply  on  our  minds,  of  furnishing  us  with  new 
incentives  to  labor,  and  of  awakening  in  us  higher  aspirations.  There 
is  danger,  too,  that  in  this  material  age  we  forget  how  intimately  the 
real  prosperity  of  any  people  is  connected  with  their  educational  ad- 
vantages, and  where  may  we  expect  that  the  claims  of  education  will 
find  advocates,  if  not  among  those  who  have  shared  these  advantages  ? 

But  you  are  not  here  to  listen  to  any  words  of  mine;  I  have  a  single 
task  to  perform.  It  becomes  my  very  pleasant  duty  to  extend  to  all 
of  you  who  have  come  back  to  your  Berkshire  home  to  share  in  these 
festivities,  a  cordial  welcome. 

To  you,  once  instructors  in  this  Institution,  I  may  offer  my  con- 
gratulations also,  at  witnessing  the  spectacle  before  you.  There  can 
2 


10  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

be  few  occasions  in  the  life  of  a  teacher,  as  I  believe,  so  replete  with 
genuine  satisfaction,  as  when  he  sees,  in  some  tangible  form,  the 
result  of  bis  work.  The  seed  that  lie  sows  is  often  of  slow  growth  ; 
there  are  few  that  understand  better  than  he  what  it  is  to  labor  and 
to  wait.  It  is  your  fortune  to  see  to-day,  as  the  fruit  of  work  long 
since  performed,  the  principles  then  inculcated,  embodied  in  character. 
What  richer  trophy,  what  more  enduring  monument  can  you  desire  ? 
Although  some  of  you  have  been  called  to  higher  departments  of  educa- 
tional work,  it  is  with  no  feelings  of  indifference,  I  am  sure,  that  you 
review  the  work  which  you  accomplished  here.  Besides  the  satisfac- 
tion which  arises  from  a  consciousness  of  fidelity  in  the  discharge  of 
duty,  you  have  the  additional  gratification  of  meeting  many  here, 
now  engaged  in  the  active  duties  of  life,  who  have  a  truer  apprecia- 
tion of  your  efforts  for  them  in  years  past  than  they  could  have  then. 
On  their  behalf  especially  I  may  welcome  you  to  this  Reunion,  and 
from  the  kind  words  of  you,  so  often  on  their  lips,  I  can  assure  you 
that  your  presence  here  is,  at  once,  an  inspiration  and  a  benediction. 

During  the  forty  years  of  this  school's  history,  there  has  been  a 
constant  tide  of  emigration  among  its  graduates.  Many  of  the  young 
men  have  sought  and  found  more  promising  fields  of  labor.  They 
are  now  occupying  places  of  responsibility  and  trust  in  the  homes  of 
their  adoption.  While  they  are  winning  life's  prizes  for  themselves, 
they  are,  at  the  same  time,  reflecting  honor  on  their  native  town  and 
on  the  institution  where  they  received,  perhaps,  the  first  impulse  in 
their  upward  career.  We  rejoice  to  see  so  many  of  this  class  with  us 
to-day.  Gentlemen,  we  may  well  be  proud  of  what  you  have  achieved 
for  yourselves  and  of  what  you  have  done  for  us.  You  are  tuelcome 
here  to-day. 

Many  of  the  young  women,  too,  who  have  gone  out  from  this  School, 
have  found  greater  attractions  elsewhere,  and  so  we  have  seen  them, 
one  after  another,  leave  the  old  homestead,  some  of  them  for  higher 
institutions  of  learning,  some  of  them  as  teachers,  more  still  to  the 
responsible  position  that  woman  occupies  in  the  household,  all  of  them 
to  the  vacant  places  that  are  waiting  for  them  to  fill.  For  these  we 
have  a  special  greeting.  Without  their  presence  to  grace  this  assem- 
bly, this  would  not  deserve  the  name  of  a  Jubilee.  It  is  no  figure  of 
speech  to  say  that  without  them,  the  charm  and  the  poetry  of  this  oc- 
casion would  he  wanting.  I  may  be  permitted  here  to  add  my  testi- 
mony to  the  value  of  their  refining  and  elevating  influence  in  the 
school  as  well  as  in  the  family  and  in  social  life.  It  will  not  be  con- 
sidered  invidious  for  me  to  say  to  these  ladies  present,  "  We  have  for 
you  the  most  cordial  welcome  of  all." 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  11 

I  hardly  need  to  say  to  these  resident  graduates — to  those  of  you 
whose  lot  it  has  been,  following  either  your  own  inclinations  or  the 
call  of  duty,  to  remain  at  home,  "to  abide  by  the  stuff" — that  this 
occasion  is  very  largely  yours.  I  occupy  the  place  that  I  do  at  your 
bidding  ;  these  words  of  welcome  that  have  been  spoken  are  yours  as 
well  as  mine. 

How  closely  you  have  become  identified  with  the  institution  we  rep- 
resent to-day,  how  much  of  influence,  of  personal  effort,  and  of  mate- 
rial aid  you  have  contributed  to  the  advancement  of  all  that  pertains 
to  the  best  interests  of  this  community,  you  do  not  expect,  indeed  you 
would  hardly  allow  me  to  rehearse  in  this  presence.  It  is,  however, 
but  just  that  I  should  say,  wherever  plans  are  to  be  devised,  or  meas- 
ures adopted  for  the  promotion  of  the  public  weal,  you  always  find  a 
welcome. 

Accept  then — one  and  all — the  greeting  we  bring  you  to-day,  teachers, 
alumni,  patrons  and  friends. 

I  have  only  to  say,  that  I  believe  that  this  Eeunion  will  not  be 
simply  an  occasion  to  be  enjoyed  to-day,  but  one  on  which  we  shall 
look  back  with  satisfaction  and  delight,  and  that  we  shall  receive  from 
it  an  inspiration  that  will  make  us  better  men  and  women. 

PROFESSOR  BARLOW'S  ADDRESS. 

"  Historic  truth,"  says  the  imperial  biographer  of  Csesar,  "  ought  to 
be  no  less  sacred  than  religion."  To-day,  historic  truth  is  all  about 
us.  The  air  is  not  more  redolent  with  the  sweet  and  satisfying  odors 
of  ripening  grain  and  luscious  fruit,  than  it  is  fragrant  with  the  mem- 
ories of  other  days, — memories  which  come  like  a  flood  as  v?e  gather 
in  these  familiar  places.  The  opening  Autumnal  month,  with  its 
fulfilment  of  Summer's  promise,  fitly  symbolizes  the  jo}^  which,  in 
the  fruition  of  our  hopes  we  are  permitted  to  know  this  day.  All 
human  speech  is  feeble  in  the  presence  of  such  a  tide  of  recollections 
as  must  bear  sway  in  minds  of  many  now  before  me.  It  would  seem 
more  fitting  that  the  silence  should  be  unbroken,  in  order  that  the 
golden  eloquence  of  memory,  as  it  is  busy  with  the  past,  might  be  the 
only  guide  and  interpreter  of  the  thoughts  of  the  hour. 

But  we  are  met  to  rehearse  the  lessons  of  days  "lang  syne."  Some 
of  us  stand  here  after  an  absence  of  forty  years,  others  of  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  very  many  for  the  first  time  since  they  left  these  scenes  of 
early  and  delightful  instruction  and  association.  I  fancy  the  tones 
of  yonder  bell,  never  fell  on  the  ears  of  pupils  more  ready  to  respond 
to  its   call   than   they   did   to-day.     When   the    summons    came    that 


12  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

school  "would  begin  again"  for  ns,  we  made  haste  to  be  read}',  and 
we  have  quickened  our  pace  that  none  of  us  should  be  tardy  at  the 
roll-call.  We  meet,  the  largest  number  of  pupils  and  of  teachers  that 
ever  assembled  at  the  opening  of  a  term.  Indeed,  for  the  first  time, 
the  old  house  is  too  small.  We  come  to  register  our  names,  to  claim 
our  membership,  to  relate  the  story  of  our  vacation  to  see  what  les- 
sons shall  be  assigned  us  for  the  coming  years,  to  pledge  our  fidelity 
to  our  Avork,  and  to  be  assured  of  the  sympathy  of  our  teachers  and  of 
each  other. 

Since  school  "  was  out "  for  us,  we  have  had  varied  experiences. 
Along  the  highways  and  the  by-ways,  we  have  enjoyed  many  a  play, 
and  have  met  not  a  few  rough  tumbles  and  some  serious  falls  and 
bruises.  Ah,  how  these  experiences  of  life  have  sobered  and  steadied, 
and  sometimes  startled  us.  I  suspect  that  meeker  pupils  never  came 
together  than  are  here  met.  With  our  arrogance  all  beaten  out  of  us, 
we  are  willing  to  confess  that  indeed  we  know  little.  But  we  miss 
the  faces  of  some  whom  we  expected  to  see.  A  part  of  these  send 
kindly  greetings,  and  assure  us  that  their  hearts  are  with  us.  But 
the  other  part  are  forever  dismissed  from  earthly  association.  They 
have  gone  by  scores,  to  enter  that  school  where  all  sit,  to  learn,  at  the 
feet  of  Him  who  was  meek  and  lowly  in  heart.  It  is  a  happy  thought 
that  their  training  here  was  such  a  preparation  as  to  gain  them 
abundant  entrance  there. 

Let  us  fix  our  eyes 
On  the  glorious  skies, 

Like  them,  let  us  watch  and  pray, 
Till  we  all  shall  go 
From  the  school  below 

To  the  school  of  endless  day. 

We  are  come  like  children  who  return  to  the  family  hearthstone  for 
a  Thanksgiving  reunion.  Those  of  us  who  went  out  early,  will  be 
glad  to  hear  that  the  time  of  our  absence  has  been  a  time  of  prosperity 
and  joy.  Those  who  went  out  later  as  well  as  those  who  still  remain 
under  the  roof-tree,  will  like  to  learn  the  story  of  the  early  days.  We 
will  all  rejoice  in  the  performance  of  the  past  and  the  promise  of  the 
future.  What  has  been  done  is  an  earnest  of  still  better  things.  If 
we  shall  succeed  in  rekindling  the  flame  of  early  love  and  devotion, 
and  in  adding  fresh  fuel,  thus  keeping  bright  the  altar  fires  of  our 
Penates  and  Lares,  we  shall  carry  hence  renewed  zeal  in  all  the  labor 
and  service  of  our  daily  lives,  and  shall  foster  the  purpose  for  which 
this    institution    was    founded, — the    cause    of    sound    learning,    the 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  13 

development  of  manly  and  womanly  character,  and  the  exemplification 
of  pious  principles  and  religious  truth.  Among  the  many  excellences 
which  the  pupils  and  friends  of  this  school  love  to  recount  as  belong- 
ing to  it,  there  is  none,  it  seems  to  me,  more  characteristic  than  the 
generous,  unselfish,  public  sentiment,  which  was  always  manifest 
whenever  a  fellow-pupil  attained  any  high  degree  of  merit  and  honor. 
I  never  knew  of  a  bitter  rivalry  or  an  unworthy  ambition. 

And  so  I  deem  it  extremely  probable  that  the  most  delightful  part 
of  this,  the  most  delightful  occasion  in  the  history  of  this  School,  will 
be  the  tales  of  by-gone  days  and  deeds,  the  boyish  and  girlish  recol- 
lections of  joj's  and  hopes,  of  labors  and  loveSj  of  tender  sentiments 
and  glorious  imaginings  of  future  possibilities,  and  of  dreams  which 
were  none  the  less  real  and  delightful,  because  impossible  of  realiza- 
tion in  the  very  nature  of  things. 

But  all  these  reminiscences  belong  to  after-dinner  speeches,  and 
private  knots  of  contemporaneous  school-mates,  rather  than  to  the 
theme  of  historical  matter,  and  plain  statistics  of  general  public  in- 
terest. 

If  ever  the  complete  history  of  the  School  shall  be  written,  what  a 
mine  of  information  would  be  discovered  and  developed  by  such  re- 
unions !  How  busy  our  memories  would  be  in  unearthing  the  long 
buried  treasures  of  the  daily  unwritten  records  of  school-life,  and  how 
fruitful  the  search  would  prove,  must  be  obvious  to  all  without  de- 
monstration or  argument.  I  bespeak,  therefore,  in  the  interest  of 
future  pupils  and  future  friends  and  patrons  of  this  institution,  some 
thoughtful  labor  on  the  part  of  every  one  who  has  shared  in  giving  or 
receiving  instruction,  that  all  of  the  interesting  events  may  be  made 
a  matter  of  permanent  record,  before  they  shall  be  gone  beyond  re- 
call. 

For  the  first  sixty  years  of  the  town's  existence  under  its  charter, 
it  had  only  the  opportunities  for  instruction  afforded  by  its  district 
schools.  That  these  possessed  considerable  merit  is  amply  shown  by 
the  recognized  intelligence  and  virtue  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
most  of  whom  received  in  them  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  their  school- 
training.  But  these  schools  were  necessarily  limited  in  the  range  of 
subjects  taught,  and  in  the  extent  to  which  any  branch  might  be 
pursued.  Yet  they  inspired  a  love  of  learning  which  made  higher 
attainments  possible.  They  laid  a  solid  foundation  on  which  to  rear 
the  superstructure  of  academic  advantages  and  college  culture. 

The  immediate  forerunner  of  the  Academy  was  a  private  school 
opened  in  May,  1835,  by  Mr.  Alexander  Hyde,  Avho  was  graduated 
the  year  before  at  Williams  College.     After  teaching  this  school  for 


14  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

two  years,  he  transferred  it  to  Mr.  (afterwards  Rev.)  Chester  Fitch, 
of  Lenox,  who  kept  it  for  a  short  time.  Mr.  Hyde  meanwhile  opened 
a  school  at  his  residence,  which  was  continued  uninterruptedly  for 
thirty  years,  to  the  great  advantage  and  credit  of  the  town.  The 
Academy  was  organized  in  the  year  1837,  and  the  building  erected  the 
same  year.  Mr.  (now  Rev.  Dr.)  Israel  Ward  Andrews  just  graduated 
at  Williams  College,  with  high  honor,  was  engaged  as  its  first  Princi- 
pal. He  began  his  labors,  Oct.  16,  1837,  and  concluded  them  in 
Dec.  1838,  teaching  five  terms.  Miss  Jerusha  Perry,  afterward  Mrs. 
Rev.  Francis  Le  Clerc,  became  his  assistant,  and  continued  till  the 
end  of  the  fourth  term,  Sept.  1838,  when  she  resigned  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Miss  Judith  Pierce. 

Mr.  Andrews  remained  the  Principal  for  two  years,  when  he  was 
called  to  the  Professorship  of  Mathematics  in  Marietta  College — which 
call  he  accepted  and  which  position  he  continued  to  fill  till  1855, 
when  he  was  chosen  President  of  the  college.  This  office  he  has  hon- 
ored by  eminent  learning  and  ability1-  for  twenty-two  years.  May  his 
usefulness  be  long  spared  to  the  college  and  to  the  youth  of  the  land  ! 

When  Mr.  Andrews  left  the  Academy  in  1839,  he  was  succeeded 
for  one  term  by  his  brother,  Samuel  J.  Andrews,  and  he,  by  Rev. 
Samuel  Mathews,  who  was  recommended  by  Pres.  Humphrey  of 
Amherst  College,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1829,  as  "  a  teacher  of 
seven  years'  experience."  He  remained  for  one  year,  assisted  by 
Miss  Lucy  Kimball,  who  was  hired  at  a  fixed  salary,  and  who  re- 
signed "  because  the  school  did  not  pay  expenses." 

The  next  year,  April  1,  1840.  Mr.  Alonzo  Kimball,  a  graduate  of 
Union  College,  became  the  Principal  and  remained  in  charge  until 
June,  1845.  When  he  began  his  term  of  office  the  school  had  but  a 
small  income.  He  relieved  the  Trustees  of  all  financial  responsibility. 
The  average  attendance  was  from  25  to  30  pupils  each  term.  Mr. 
Kimball  was  assisted  by  Miss  Weston. 

Mr.  Eli  A.  Hubbard,  A.  M.,  a  graduate  of  Williams  College,  class 
of  '42,  Avas  next  elected  to  the  principalship.  He  entered  upon  his 
duties  Sept.  1,  1845.  He  taught  the  School  with  great  acceptance,  a 
period  of  six  terms,  until  March  1,  1847,  when  he  resigned  to  take 
charge  of  the  High  School  in  Northampton.  His  assistants  during 
this  time  were  Mrs.  Hubbard,  Air.  (afterwards  Rev.)  Charles  Ball, 
Miss  Sarah  M.  Bradley  (Airs.  S.  S.  Rogers),  Miss  Martha  Chamber- 
lain (Airs.  M.  C.  Uhler),  and  Afiss  Eliza  Edwards  (Airs.  William  B. 
Fid  ton). 

When  Air.  Hubbard  left,  Air.  Charles  Ball  took  charge  of  the  school 
for  the  rest  of  the  year. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  15 

The  next  Principal,  who  was  the  last  one  chosen  for  the  Academy, 
and  during  whose  administration  of  the  school  it  became  the  High 
School,  and  who  was  its  first  Principal,  was  Rev.  Thomas  Amory  Hall, 
a  graduate  of  Williams  College  of  the  class  of  '38.  He  began  his 
term  of  service  in  the  Fall  of  1847,  with  Mrs.  Hall  as  his  assistant. 
The  change  to  the  High  School  was  made  in  accordance  with  the 
state  law,  familiar  to  you  all,  under  which  the  School  is  now  carried 
on.  Mr.  Hall  rendered  valuable  aid  in  the  inauguration  of  the  High 
School  project,  arranging  its  entrance  examinations  and  courses  of 
study.  Miss  Mary  Ann  Smith  (Mrs.  Elizur  Smith),  was  engaged  to 
assist  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall,  as  the  number  of  pupils  was,  at  one  time, 
too  large  for  two  teachers. 

In  the  Spring  of  1853,  Mrs.  Hall's  health  failing,  Miss  Hattie  N. 
Fletcher  of  the  Normal  School  at  Westfield,  was  invited  to  assist  Mr. 
Hall. 

In  the  Spring  of  1854,  Mr.  Hall,  after  seven  years  of  continuous 
labor,  resigned  his  position  and  removed  to  Otis  to  resume  his  pas- 
toral work. 

Mr.  Henry  Ellsworth  Daniels,  A.  M.,  of  the  class  of  '53,  Williams 
College,  next  became  the  Principal,  entering  upon  his  duties  in  the 
Summer  of  1854.  He  taught  successfully  for  two  years,  and  resigned 
to  engage  in  the  study  and  practice  of  law.  Miss  Fletcher  con- 
tinued as  assistant  while  Mr.  Daniels  taught,  and  resigned  at  the  end 
of  the  Fall  term,  1855. 

Before  Mr.  Daniels  left,  he  secured  by  his  recommendation,  the 
services  of  Mr.  Richard  Knight  Adams,  a  graduate  of  Williams  Col- 
lege, class  of  '54,  to  finish  the  school  year.  Miss  Goodrich  was  his 
assistant. 

At  the  end  of  the  school-year,  the  school  committee  found  it  neces- 
sary to  look  again  for  teachers.  They  were  so  fortunate  as  to  secure 
Mr.  (now  Rev.  Dr.)  Ephraim  Flint,  of  the  class  of  '51,  Williams  Col- 
lege, as  Principal,  and  Miss  Phcebe  A.  Holder,  a  graduate  of  the  Nor- 
mal School  at  Westfield,  as  assistant.  They  began  to  teach  June 
30,  1856.  Mr.  Flint  continued  to  teach  until  Sept.  10,  1862,  when  he 
resigned  to  take  charge  of  the  High  School  in  Lynn.  Miss  Holder- 
taught  until  Dec.  1861,  when  she  resigned  to  engage  in  teaching  in 
another  school. 

During  the  last  two  terms  of  Mr.  Flint's  principalship,  Miss  Louisa 
B.  Brown  and  Miss  M.  Eliza  Gibbs  rendered  valuable  assistance  in- 
teaching  some  of  the  classes. 

The  present  Principal,  Abner  Rice,  A.  M.,  of  the  class  of  '44,  Yale 
College,  entered  upon  his  duties  in  connection  with  the  School  in  Sept. 


16  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

1862.  His  term  of  service  Las  been  the  longest  of  any  teacher,  and 
his  work  is  the  best  known  to  many  of  my  audience  to-day.  For  the 
first  four  years  he  conducted  the  School  without  help.  In  April,  1866, 
Miss  Charlotte  G.  Rice  was  engaged  as  assistant  and  continued  to 
teach  lor  five  years.  Miss  M.  Eliza  Gibbs  was  engaged  April  10, 
1871,  and  taught  for  two  terms.  After  her,  the  place  was  filled  by 
Miss  Isabella  S.  Wight,  a  graduate  of  the  Normal  School  at  Lraming- 
ham,  who  taught  two  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Lizzie  S.  Bran- 
ning  who  taught  about  a  year  and  a  half.  She  in  turn  was  followed 
by  Miss  Wight,  who  is  still  in  service. 

Such  are  the  few  recorded  facts  of  chronological  interest.  The 
story  is  simple,  but  when  the  final  record  shall  be  made,  and  when 
the  "  books  shall  be  opened  "  and  it  shall  be  known  how  the  lives 
and  destinies,  the  condition  and  the  characters,  of  the  pupils  commit- 
ted to  the  care  of  these  worthy  men  and  women,  who  have  taught  and 
trained  for  time  and  for  eternity,  have  been  influenced  for  good — how 
magnified  will  all  this  appear.  Therefore  it  seems  fit  to  say,  that 
this  record  is  both  history  and  prophecy.  The  past  is  secure,  and 
hope  cannot  cease  for  the  future,  for  children  will  always  keep  the 
world  from  growing  old.  Schools  are  everywhere  improving.  New 
methods,  while  they  do  not  discover  any  royal  road  to  learning,  do 
wonderfully  improve  the  old  highway.  Looking  back  to  the  text- 
books of  fifty  years  ago,  and  to  the  popular  estimate  at  that  time  of 
what  is  called  the  education  of  the  people,  and  considering  what 
changes  have  been  made  during  that  time,  what  may  we  not  confi- 
dently hope  and  expect  during  the  school-life  of  some  of  this 
audience. 

You  will  doubtless  expect  me  to  say  something  of  the  lives  and  labors 
of  this  goodly  number  of  teachers  to  whom  has  been  entrusted  for 
forty  years  the  educational  and  moral  training  of  the  youth  of  this 
town.  But  of  the  living,  many  of  whom  we  are  glad  to  have  with  us 
to-day,  I  must  not  speak  by  name.  The}'  all  have  earned  and  enjoy 
the  gratitude  of  those  who  knew  their  sterling  ability  and  faithful 
devotion,  their  kindly  sympathy  and  dear  companionship. 

If  teachers  could  see  far  enough  into  the  future  to  know  how  their 
pupils  would  thank  them  for  their  earnest  and  loving  counsels  and 
hearty,  helpful  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  it  would  bridge  over  many  a  dark 
chasm  which  at  the  time  seemed  impassable,  and  would  strengthen 
.the  courage  which  was  so  near  to  failing,  to  renewed  patience  over 
dullness,  and  reviving  faith  in  perverse  and  incorrigible  boys  and 
thoughtless  girls. 

Of  the  twenty-eight  regularly  appointed  Teachers,  eleven  Principals 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  17 

and  seventeen  Assistants,  the  great  majority  have  been  spared  for  long 
lives  of  usefulness.     Four  are  gone  to  join  the  Great  Teacher. 

Of  Mr.  Mathews  I  can  give  no  definite  information. 

Eev.  Mr.  Hall,  who  died  in  Monterey,  Sept.  17,  1871,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-eight,  was  for  seven  years  an  able  teacher.  His  scholarship  was 
of  a  high  order  and  his  services  were  acceptable  to  the  patrons  of  the 
school.  His  teaching  was  of  the  old  order  of  academic  hearing  of 
recitations,  and  he  knew  whether  a  pupil  had  learned  his  lesson.  As 
a  preacher  he  was  earnest,  convincing,  and  sincere.  His  loss  was 
deeply  mourned  by  those  who  knew  his  worth. 

Mr.  Daniels  fell  a  victim  to  consumption,  Oct.  16, 18G6,  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-six.  He  came  to  his  work  well  fitted.  His  methods 
were  modern,  and  his  teachings  imparted  an  impetus  to  the  school 
activity  which  is  felt  to-day.  Admired  by  his  pupils  for  his  brilliancy 
and  thoroughness,  he  will  remain  for  many  the  model  teacher  and 
gentleman.  When  the  tidings  came  of  his  death  it  seemed  as  if  one 
of  the  brightest  stars  in  the  firmament  had  set.  His  influence  was 
left  behind  permanently  impressed  upon  those  who  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  have  had  such  a  teacher. 

Mr.  Charles  Ball,  who  assisted  Mr.  Hubbard,  and  who  had  charge 
of  the  school  for  one  term,  was  well  known  in  this  town.  One  of  the 
brightest  and  most  promising  boys,  one  of  the  most  reliable  and 
earnest  young  men,  he  was  an  honor  both  to  the  school  and  to  the 
town.  By  his  zeal  in  every  good  work,  and  his  thorough  devotion  to 
his  calling,  his  presence  was  an  inspiration.  As  a  preacher  he  was 
greatly  liked,  and  his  early  death  seemed  an  inscrutable  providence. 
But  he  neither  lived  nor  died  in  vain.  His  mission  was  fulfilled,  his 
character  complete. 

What  shall  I  say  further?  Your  own  grateful  hearts  will  supply 
what  I  have  left  unsaid,  as  memory  runs  back  to  grasp  again  the 
warm  hand  or  to  look  into  the  dear  eyes,  long  since  closed  to  earthly 
scenes,  and  laid  aside  from  earthly  activities.  In  after  years  may  it 
be  pos-ible  for  our  friends  to  recall  us,  as  we  to-day,  recall  these  whom 
we  love  and  reverence. 

Of  the  many  friends  of  the  school  who  have  been  its  faithful  adher- 
ents and  warm  supporters,  and  who  are  here  to  rejoice  in  its  success 
to-day,  I  cannot  find  fit  phrases  to  tell  their  merits,  true,  and  tried. 
Yet  I  must  mention  the  name  of  one  who  for  more  than  forty  years 
has  been  the  able  and  loyal  friend  of  education  ;  one  who  has  had  for 
this  whole  period  one  of  the  laboring  oars,  and  to  whom,  I  doubt  not, 
this  school  not  only,  but  this  town,  is  indebted,  more  than  to  any 
other  man,  for  hard,  faithful,  long-continued  service.  May  his  activity 
3 


18  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

in  the  gootl  work  never  cease.  You  all  know  this  can  be  no  other 
than  Alexander  Hyde 

Of  the  friends  of  the  School  whose  counsels  can  never  be  ours  again, 
and  whose  loss  we  mourn  as  we  celebrate  their  triumphs  to-day,  there 
is  one  man,  I  think,  deserving  both  by  his  prayers  and  his  efforts  for 
tli is  School,  of  the  highest  honor  and  the  deepest  regard  in  the  heart 
of  every  graduate.  Whenever  any  trial  or  discouragement  or  diffi- 
culty arose,  all  eyes  were  turned  to  him  and  never  turned  in  vain. 
No  sacrifice  of  time  in  the  midst  of  an  active  business  life,  no  measure 
of  responsibility  while  beneath  the  heaviest  loads  of  care,  no  amount 
of  labor  when  weighed  down  under  toil,  was  thought  too  great,  if  by 
it  he  could  serve  this  School.  In  town  meeting,  in  the  social  circle,  in 
the  legislature,  in  the  street,  in  the  School  itself,  in  every  place,  he 
talked  and  he  worked  for,  and  he  was  well  and  honorably  known  as  the 
friend  of,  education,  and  of  public  schools.  His  reputation  needs  no 
words  of  praise,  but  I  feel  I  owe  him  a  personal  debt.  Every  boy  and 
girl  who  ever  studied  within  the  walls  of  this  institution  is  happier 
and  wiser  to-day  because  of  his  toils  and  sacrifices.  I  know  that  all 
who  felt  his  influence  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  school,  when  such  in- 
fluence as  his  was  needed,  will  be  glad  to  honor 'his  memory.  I  need 
not  tell  you  that  I  refer  to  Samuel  Augustus  Hulbert.  One  such  man 
as  he  in  a  community  is  a  tower  of  strength.  Upon  whom  has  his 
mantle  fallen  ? 

There  are  other  names  which  should  be  mentioned.  The  older 
pupils  remember  Ransom  Hinman,  with  his  pleasant  talks  on  grammar 
and  penmanship  and  good  manners;  in  all  of  which  he  was  a  model 
worthy  of  imitation  ;  Alexander  P.  Bassett,  who  served  so  many  years 
on  the  Committee,  and  who  was  ready  and  abb;  when  teachers  failed, 
to  lend  a  helping  hand  ;  Dr.  Gale,  so  long  and  so  firm  a  friend  and 
advocate,  in  school  and  out  of  it,  for  the  highest  intellectual,  moral  and 
religious  culture  ;  a  man  who  has  left  his  impress  on  the  town  for 
good,  in  so  many  wa3rs  never  to  be  effaced, — these,  and  man}-  who 
should  be  mentioned  did  time  permit,  we  will  hold  in  honor  and  ever- 
lasting gratitude. 

The  Academy  building  was  erected  by  a  stock  company  in  1837. 
The  shares  were  $25,  and  120  in  number.  In  1865  there  had 
been  transferred  to  the  town  sixty-four  of  these  shares,  representing 
$1,600.  The  land  on  which  this  building  stands  was  donated  by 
the  American  Bible  Society.  The  house  may  now  fairly  be  regarded 
as  owned  by  the  town,  for  it  controls  a  majority  of  the  shares  of 
stock,  and  the  few  surviving  stockholders  are  well  disposed  to  the 
school. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  19 

The  average  attendance  of  the  school  has  heen  very  even. 

Under  Principal  Andrews  it  was  54  ;  Hubbard,  66  ;  Hall,  62  ;  Dan- 
iels, 52  ;  Flint,  67  ;  Eice,  70. 

The  number  of  teachers  averages  2.  The  rate  of  tuition  (as  an 
Academy)  was  four  to  six  dollars  per  quarter. 

The  appropriation  (as  a  High  School),  for  the  last  twenty  years,  av- 
erages for  the  school  at  the  Center,  $  1,500;  for  the  school  at  South 
Lee,  $250;  making  a  total  of  $1,750.  This  divided  by  70,  the  aver- 
age number  of  pupils,  gives  $25  per  pupil  for  the  four  quarters  of  the 
year.  This,  in  the  riumber  of  dollars,  equals  the  rate  of  tuition  in  the 
Academy.  But  as  the  purchasing  power  of  a  dollar  was  then  at  least 
twice  what  it  is  now,  the  school  costs  at  present  but  one-half  what  it 
used  to  cost,,  and  the  poor  man  sends  his  boys  and  girls.  This  great 
gain  is  matter  of  public  congratulation. 

I  must  not  fail  to  mention  the  Branch  High  School,  which  for  many 
years  has  been  sustained  at  South  Lee  during  the  Winter  months,  for 
the  accommodation  of  pupils  who  could  not  conveniently  attend  the 
school  at  the  Center.  The  teachers  and  the  pupils  have  done  faithful 
work,  and  this  school  may  now  be  considered  as  established  on  a  per- 
manent foundation. 

I  am  aware  that  what  I  have  given  of  the  history  of  the  school  is 
known  to  many  of  you  as  well  as,  or  even  better  than,  it  is  known  to 
me.  I  am  sure  my  account  is  incomplete.  I  trust,  however,  it  is  not 
inaccurate  in  any  important  particular.  I  have  made  careful  examin- 
ations of  records,  many  of  them  too  brief  to  tell  all  the  story  ;  I  have 
endeavored,  by  extended  inquiry  and  correspondence,  to  get  additional 
information,  and  I  hope  I  have  found  sufficient  to  encourage  some  one 
to  undertake  the  task  of  writing  a  complete  history. 

While  the  standard  of  attainment  has  always  been  high,  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  school  has  steadily  increased  under  its  present  able  ad- 
ministration, until  it  is  considered,  I  am  assured  by  competent  judges, 
as  second  to  no  similar  institution  in  this  section  of  the  State.  Since 
1872,  there  has  been  a  regular  course  of  study,  on  the  completion  of 
which,  the  graduate  receives  a  diploma. 

But  while  the  school  is  so  well  managed  and  taught,  its  possible 
usefulness  is  verj'  much  impaired  by  the  lack  of  desirable  necessary 
apparatus  in  Natural  Philosophy,  Chemistry,  and  the  general  sciences. 
Would  it  be  amiss  for  me  to  suggest  that  those  graduates  who  are  able 
to  do  so,  should,  in  return  for  what  the  school  has  done  for  them,  see 
that  this  want  is  speedily  supplied?  Will  you  pardon  me  if  I  further 
urge  your  attention  to  the  condition  of  the  grounds,  which  may  be 
improved  at  small  expense,  and  beautified  by  shrubbery,  flowering,  and 


20  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

other  ornamental  plants,  and  a  well  cut  lawn.  I  am  sure  there  are  many 
who  will  be  glad  to  contribute  towards  placing  this  new  department  of 
aesthetics  among  the  educational  forces  of  this  excellent  institution. 

The  friends  of  this  School  have  always  been  ready  to  do  battle  for 
it  on  all  occasions.  The  rich  and  the  poor,  who  know  the  blessings  of 
free  universal  education,  have  joined  hands  in  its  support.  I  well  re- 
member the  pride  with  which  many  a  boy  listened  in  town  meeting 
to  the  speeches  made  by  its  friends,  for  the  necessary  money  to  carry 
it  on  another  year.  I  seem  to  see,  as  if  it  happened  yesterday,  a  poor 
man,  abjectly  poor,  rise  to  his  feet  and  tell  the  voters  what  the  school 
had  done  for  him  in  his  poverty;  how  his  children  had  been  taught 
year  by  year,  as  if  he  had  untold  wealth  at  his  command;  how  they 
had  been  fitted  for  stations  in  life  far  better  than  the  one  to  which 
they  had  been  born ;  how,  by  the  blessed  influence  of  this  education, 
he  looked  hopefully  to  coining  years,  feeling  that  he  could  lie  peace- 
fully down  in  the  silence  of  the  grave,  thanking  God  for  nothing  bet- 
ter for  those  he  loved  than  the  advantages  of  such  instruction.  When 
he  sat  down,  the  vote  was  passed  by  a  good  majority.  I  remember, 
too,  on  another  day,  when  the  law  was  cited  that  the  town  was  liable 
to  a  heavy  fine  if  the  school  should  not  be  sustained  according  to  the 
provisions  of  the  statute,  and  a  man  of  some  influence  had  said  that 
"nobody  would  enter  a  complaint,"  that  he  "would  stand  between  the 
town  and  all  harm,"  a  man  of  another  stamp,  who  was  accustomed 
to  do  what  he  promised  and  whose  children  had  enjoyed  the  advanta- 
ges of  the  school  and  who  prized  it  highly,  rose  to  his  feet  and  said, 
"  Mr.  Moderator,  I  wish  to  give  notice  that  if  this  vote  is  not  passed, 
I  will  enter  a  complaint  against  the  town  before  to-morrow  night." 
The  vote  was  passed  that  time,  too. 

Indeed,  I  think  there  has  never  been  a  year  when  the  town  has 
failed  to  do  its  duty.  In  its  earlier  years,  the  fate  of  the  school  used 
to  tremble  in  the  balance,  but  the  sterling  sense  of  its  many  support- 
ers, backed  by  the  strong  arm  of  wise  statutes,  has  turned  the  scale  in 
its  favor  at  last. 

The  great  money-making  machine  of  Massachusetts  is  not  her  fac- 
tories or  her  mills,  but  her  public  school  sj^stem.  It  is  this  which  has 
given  her  wealth  and  capital ;  it  is  this  which  has  given  her  such  ad- 
vantages in  controlling  the  industries  of  the  country.  The  larger  the 
sum  she  expends  for  education,  the  richer  she  grows. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  the  development  of  the  brain  power  of 
a  country  pays  the  largest  return,  not  only  in  refinement  and  culture, 
hut  in  dollars  and  cents.  Intelligent  -labor  of  all  kinds  is  always  in 
demand.     The  efficiency  of  the  educational  system  of  a  country  is  the 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  21 

index  of  national  prosperity.  Ideas  rule  the  world.  Brains  own  and 
control  muscle  not  less  than  they  rule  the  elemental  forces  of  Nature. 
Happily  for  all  who  reap  the  advantages  of  public  school  education  in 
this  town,  the  value  of  this  highest  department  is  known  and  admitted 
by  those  whose  duty  it  is  made  by  the  wisdom  of  the  State,  and  whose 
privilege  it  is  considered  by  themselves  to  provide  for  its  support. 
While  the  course  of  study  here  has  always  been  adapted  to  fitting  boys 
for  college,  it  has  not  sent  a  large  number  thither.  Its  chief  work 
has  been  done  in  giving  a  good  academic  training  for  business  and  so- 
cial life.  It  has  always  had  a  goodly  number  of  pupils  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  town,  and  whenever  it  has  sent 
boys  to  college  they  have  not  disgraced  their  course  of  preparation.  It 
has  had,  without  exception,  teachers  of  ability,  of  good  character,  of 
pious  lives,  who  have  trained  their  pupils  by  precept  and  by  example, 
in  both  human  and  divine  wisdom.  The  many  questions  of  education 
which  have  vexed  other  schools  have  not  affected  it.  It  has  taught 
science  and  religion,  and  discovered  no  conflict  between  them.  It  has 
gone  quietly  on  its  way  reading  the  Bible  and  asking  God's  blessings 
on  its  pupils  in  their  labors,  as  if  it  were  a  right  and  proper  thing  to 
do.  It  has  abolished  corporal  punishment  because  the  occasion  for  it 
disappeared  when  the  law  of  love  appeared. 

The  outcome  of  such  a  course  of  training  under  such  influences,  is 
most  fortunate.  The  graduates  of  such  a  school  must  be  imbued  with 
good  principles  and  devoted  to  good  deeds.  They  must  grasp  and  set- 
tle for  themselves,  and  perchance  for  others,  some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant problems  that  can  confront  the  human  understanding.  They  are 
called  on  as  citizens  of  a  free  republic,  to  consider  and  decide  questions 
of  political  economy,  of  t-'tate  rights,  of  international  equity,  of  statute 
law,  of  public  morality,  and  of  Christian  ethics.  These  are  but  a 
small  part  of  the  task  set  before  the  boy  and  girl  who  steps  out  across 
the  threshold  of  the  High  School. 

What  evidence  is  there  that  this  preparation  is  ample?  In  what 
has  there  been  shown  a  fitness  to  discharge  such  high  duties?  If  we 
look  beyond  the  ordinary  responsibilities  of  good  citizenship  and  faith- 
ful domestic  life,  I  think  that  the  most  satisfactory  answers  can  be 
found  when  we  consider  the  sacrifices  made  by  the  graduates  of  this 
school,  who  were  engaged  in  our  late  civil  war,  and  who  must  have 
prepared  for  such  a  conflict  while  peacefully  studying  the  principles 
of  good  government,  of  law  and  order,  of  sound  morality  and  political 
justice.  It  is  the  high  reward  of  those  who  die  in  defense  of  their 
native  land,  that  their  names  are  forever  sweet  in  the  mouths  of  those 
for  whom  they  died.     Their  title  to  nobility  none  shall  ever  dispute. 


22  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

The  men  who,  in  the  simple  devotion  of  heroic  citizen  soldiery  gave 
themselves  to  the  dangers  of  the  camp  and  the  battle-field  that  the  na- 
tion might  not  die,  were  permitted,  as  few  have  been  in  their  mortal 
career,  to  bear  a  most  important  part  in  making  one  of  the  grandest 
chapters  of  history  the  world  has  <?ver  known.  "Events  are  not  his- 
tory. Behind  the  events  is  the  law  and  behind  the  law  is  an  immuta- 
ble and  a  just  Jehovah.  All  history  is  a  growing  up  into  the  light." 
Above  the  wail  and  the  shout  and  the  shock  of  battle,  Truth  strikes 
out  the  key-note  of  a  sublimer  conflict,  and  ever  and  anon  "there  steps 
out  grandly  from  the  Infinite  "  one  who  gives  victory  to  the  right. 
The  mission  God  gave  this  country,  is  the  lofty  ideal  of  an  exalted 
humanity,  the  right  of  men  everywhere  under  the  broad  canopy  of 
Heaven  to  become  what  God  made  them  to  be,  "  heroes  and  sons  of 
God,"  working  out  His  eternal  purposes  in  the  light  of  reason  and 
loyalty.  Before  such  a  mission  all  bow  in  glad  and  willing  homage, 
for  though  its  approach  may  be  hindered  by  the  darkness  of  ignorance, 
though  kings  may  scoff  at  it  and  statesmen  deride,  jet  the  nations 
stand  on  tiptoe  waiting  for  its  glorious  appearing,  and  it  will  come  at 
last  crowned  with  might  and  majesty.  In  honoring  these  men  there 
is  no  desire  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  civil  strife,  or  to  keep  alive 
sectional  animosities,  but  to  show  our  appreciation  of  all  knightly  deeds. 
The  rough  school  of  war  taught  not  only  the  soldier,  but  every  Amer- 
ican, to  lay  aside  local  prejudice  and  bigotry  when  it  brought  him 
face  to  face  with  the  stern  realities  of  loyalty  and  brotherhood  and 
equal  rights  ;  to  entertain  a  humbler  estimate  of  himself,  and  a 
juster  one  of  his  own  and  other  countries  when  it  showed  him  the 
price  at  which  national  blessings  must  ever  be  secured  and  maintained. 
That  government  alone  is  safe  and  strong  which  lives  in  the  virtuous 
homes  of  its  citizens.  The  heart,  and  not  the  head,  is  the  fountain  of 
patriotism.  The  heroic  affections  of  a  people  are  the  strongest  polit- 
ical cords  of  a  nation.  In  these  affections  are  involved  honor  and 
magnanimity,  justice  and  charity.  He  who  loves  his  home  with  his 
tenderest  passion,  will  love  his  country  with  like  steadfast  devotion. 
The  brightest  light  which  can  guide,  and  the  most  genial  warmth 
which  can  cheer  a  human  soul,  radiate  from  a  happy  hearth-stone.  All 
that  is  dear  to  us  in  our  social  life  is  strengthened  and  perpetuated  b}' 
a  righteous  government,  and  that  national  policy  is  suicidal  which 
does  not  shine  into  the  humblest  cottage,  to  awaken  in  the  loving  bo- 
soms of  its  inmates  unbounded  trust  and  unstinted  assistance.  I  care 
not  what  section  of  country  a  man  may  claim  and  glorify  as  his  own, 
if  he  have  faith  in  human  fellowship  and  believes  in  fervent  prayers. 
No  labor  or  sacrifice  will  be  too  great  for  him  to  perform  that  he  majr 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  23 

help  to  make  the  condition  of  the  civil  and  religious  life  of  all  "God's 
creatures  as  free  and  as  strong  and  as  happy  as  he  finds  or  fancies  his 
own  to  be,  when  his  heart  is  filled  with  the  joys  which  cluster  around 
his  own  quiet  fireside.  Ah,  fortunate  America,  whose  radiant  homes 
are  a  perpetual  pledge  and  inspiration  to  high  national  privileges  and 
a  beneficent  government ! 

The  honor  of  being  patriot  soldiers  we  cannot  all  claim  ;  but  we  can 
claim,  as  citizens  of  the  republic  of  letters,  an  interest  in  their  deeds 
beyond  that  wbich  he  feels,  whose  calling  does  not  need  the  undis- 
turbed quiet  of  the  peaceful  reign  of  law.  All  literary  pursuits  are 
fostered  by  freedom.  In  the  interest  of  patriot  scholars,  therefore.  I 
thank  our  patriot  soldiers  for  compelling  and  making  possible  the 
continuance  of  that  peace  which  gives  leisure  and  opportunity  for  in- 
tellectual labor.  None  owe  them  a  greater  debt  of  gratitude  than  do 
the  men  of  letters,  and,  happily,  they  can  partly  pay  this  debt.  The 
pen  records  the  achievements  of  the  sword,  and  keeps  green  the  name 
and  fame  of  him  who  wields  it.  Cicero  uttered  a  significant  truth  for 
nations  and  for  individuals,  when  he  declared  that  bat  for  the  Iliad  the 
same  grave  that  held  the  body  of  Achilles  would  also  have  entombed 
his  name.  But  let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  while  the  student  trim- 
med his  lamp  the  soldier  lighted  his  camp  fires;  while  the  scholar 
preached  truth  and  freedom,  the  soldier  practiced  and  defended  them  ; 
while  the  former  threaded  the  academic  walks,  the  latter  marched 
along  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  Recorded  honors  cluster 
over  their  graves,  and  every  place  in  which  a  soldier's  dust  reposes 
has  been  consecrated  forever  and  ever  to  the  country  for  whose  gov- 
ernment and  liberty  he  gave  up  his  life.  And  until  years  shall  cease 
to  roll  and  human  hearts  to  beat,  there  will  never  be  a  man,  in  what- 
ever rank  of  life  you  find  him,  who,  with  the  memory  and  the  glory  of 
the  brilliant  achievements  of  the  Army  of  the  Republic  before  him, 
will  not  gird  and  guide  himself  with  a  higher  sense  of  the  spirit  and 
power  of  truth,  of  justice,  of  humanity  and  of  right.  Our  companions 
"are  lost  to  human  sight,  but  not  lost  to  the  Omniscient  eye,  not  lost 
in  the  august  reckoning  in  which  institutions  and  persons  will  be 
called  to  account,  not  lost  in  the  distribution  of  palms,  not  lost  in  the 
award  of  crowns  and  jewels." 

This  hour  belongs  both  to  the  living  and  the  dead.  It  goes  back 
along  the  track  of  noble  lives,  and  it  points  forward  to  heights  yet  un- 
attained.  What  need  I  say  more?  If  such  lives  and  such  deeds  and 
such  deaths  are  possible  as  the  fruit  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  and 
religious  instruction  to  be  had  without  distinction  and  without  price, 
by  every  child  in  the  land,  the  problem  is  solved  and  the  claims  of 
education  must  be  acknowledged. 


24  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

It  remains  for  us  patriots,  all,  whether  scholars  or  soldiers  or  citi- 
zens, to  highly  resolve  to  welcome  and  to  divinely  entertain  the  pure, 
sweet  spirit  of  Liberty. 

"Who  cometh  over  the  hills, 

Her  garments  with  morning  sweet, 

The  dance  of  a  thousand  rills 

Making  music  before  her  feet? 

Her  presence  freshens  the  air, 

Sunshine  steals  light  from  her  face. 

The  leaden  footstep  of  Care 

Leaps  to  the  tune  of  her  pace, 

Fairness  of  all  that  is  fair, 

Grace  at  the  heart  of  all  grace  ! 

Sweetener  of  hut  and  of  hall, 

Bringer  of  life  out  of  miught, 

Freedom,  oh,  fairest  of  all 

The  daughters  of  Time  and  Thought!" 

"Tell  me,  .young  men,  have  ye  seen 

Creature  of  diviner  mien, 

For  true  hearts  to  long  and  cry  for, 

Manly  hearts  to  live  and  die  for  '.' 

What  hath  she  that  others  want  ? 

Brows  that  all  endearments  haunt, 

Eyes  that  make  it  sweet  to  dare, 

Smiles  that  glad  untimely  death, 

Looks  that  fortify  despair, 

Tones  mure  brave  than  trumpet's  breath; 

Tell  me,  maidens,  have  ye  known 

Household  charm  more  sweetly  rare  ? 

Grace  of  woman  ampler  blown  '.' 

Modest}'  more  debonair? 

Younger  heart  witli  wit  full-grown  ? 

Oh,  for  an  hour  of  my  prime, 

The  pulse  of  my  hotter  years, 

That  I  might  praise  her  in  rhyme 

Would  tingle  your  eyelids  to  tears, 

Oar  sweetness,  our  strength,  and  our  star, 

Our  hope,  our  joy,  and  our  trust, 

Who  lifted  us  out  of  the  dust 

And  made  us  whatever  we  are  !  " 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 


25 


"  Maiden  half  mortal,  half  divine, 
We  triumphed  in  thy  coming;  to  the  brinks 
Our  hearts  were  filled  with  pride's  tumultuous  wine  : 
Better  to-day  who  rather  feels  than  thinks: 
Yet  will  some  graver  thoughts  intrude 
And  cares  of  nobler  mood : 

They  won  thee  :  who  shall  keep  thee  ?     From  the  deeps 
Where  discrowned  empires  o'er  their  ruins  brood, 
And  many  a  thwarted  hope  wrings  its  weak  hands  and  weeps, 
I  hear  the  voice  as  of  a  mighty  wind 
From  all  Heaven's  caverns  rushing  unconfined, — 
'  I,  Freedom,  dwell  with  knowledge :  I  abide 
With  men  whom  dust  of  faction  cannot  blind 
To  the  slow  tracings  of  the  Eternal  Mind; 
With  men,  by  culture  trained  and  fortified, 
Who  bitter  duty  to  sweet  lusts  prefer, 
Fearless  to  counsel  and  obey : 
Conscience  my  scepter  is,  and  law  my  sword, 
Not  to  be  drawn  in  passion  or  in  play, 
But  terrible  to  punish  and  deter, 
Implacable  as  God's  word, 

Like  it  a  shepherd's  crook  to  them  that  blindly  err. 
Your  firm-pulsed  sires,  my  martyrs  and  my  saints, 
Shoots  of  that  only  race  whose  patient  sense 
Hath  known  to  mingle  flux  with  permanence, 
Rated  my  chaste  denials  and  restraints 
Above  the  moment's  dear-paid  paradise : 
Beware  lest,  shifting  with  Time's  gradual  creep, 
The  light  that  guided  shine  into  your  eyes  : 
The  envious  Powers  of  ill  nor  wink  nor  sleep  ; 
Be  therefore  timely  wise, 

Nor  laugh  when  this  one  steals  and  that  one  lies, 
As  if  your  luck  could  cheat  those  sleepless  spies, 
Till  the  deaf  fury  come,  your  house  to  sweep  ! ' 
I  hear  the  voice  and  unaffrighted  bow.: 
Ye  shall  not  be  prophetic  now, 
Heralds  of  ill,  that  darkening  fly 
Between  my  vision  and  the  rainbowed  sky, 
Or  on  the  left  your  hoarse  forebodings  croak 
From  many  a  blasted  bough 
On  Igdrasil's  storm-sinewed  oak, 
That  once  was  green,  Hope  of  the  West,  as  thou. 
4 


26  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Yet  pardon  if  I  tremble  while  I  boast, 
For  thee  I  love  as  those  who  pardon  most. 

"  Away,  ungrateful  doubt,  away ! 

At  least  she  is  our  own  to-day ; 

Break  into  rapture,  my  song, 

Verses,  leap  forth  in  the  sun, 

Bearing  the  joyance  along 

Like  a  train  of  fire  as  ye  run  ! 

Pause  not  for  choosing  of  words, 

Let  them  but  blossom  and  sing 

Blithe  as  the  orchards  and  birds 

With  the  new  coming  of  Spring ! 

Dance  in  your  jollity,  bells, 

Shout,  cannon,  cease  not,  ye  drums, 

Answer,  ye  hill-sides  and  dells, 

Bow,  all  ye  people,  she  comes. 

Radiant,  calm-fronted  as  when 

She  hallowed  that  April  day  : 

Stay  with  us  !     Yes,  thou  shalt  stay, 

Softener  and  strengthener  of  men, 

Freedom,  not  won  by  the  vain, 

Not  to  be  courted  in  play, 

Not  to  be  kept  without  pain  ! 

Stay  with  us !     Yes,  thou  wilt  stay, 

Handmaid  and  mistress  of  all, 

Kindler  of  deed  and  of  thought, 

Thou,  that  to  hut  and  to  hall 

Equal  deliverance  brought! 

Souls  of  her  martyrs,  draw  near, 

Touch  our  dull  lips  with  your  fire, 

That  we  may  praise  without  fear 

Her,  our  delight,  our  desire, 

Our  faith's  inextinguishable  star, 

Our  hope,  our  remembrance,  our  trust, 

Our  present,  our  past,  our  to  be, 

Who  will  mingle  her  life  with  our  dust 

And  make  us  deserve  to  be  free  !  " 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  27 

Mrs.  M.  M.  Frissell  of  Kingston,  N.  Y.,  being  intro- 
duced read  the  following  poem,  prepared  at  the  request 
of  the  Committee  : 

The  pilgrims  of  this  century, 

In  this  new  land  of  ours, 
Might  vainly  search  for  classic  shrines, 

For  antique  mounds  or  towers  ; 
Or  measure  gifts  with  those  who  cross 

The  sea  to  offer  gems, 
And  golden  gifts  with  ardent  prayers, 

To  papal  diadems. 
Yet  shrines  we  know,  with  spell  as  strong 

To  summon  pilgrim  feet, 
As  those  in  legends  held  or  sung, 

Since  faithful  lips  repeat 
Dear  names  of  home,  of  church,  of  school, 

Trio  to  us  infallible  ! 

Laden  with  memories  of  these, 

We  therefore  come  to  keep 
A  loving  festival,  near  by 

Where  our  forefathers  sleep. 
Along  these  streets,  on  these  fair  hills, 

By  Housatonic's  shore, 
Happy  the  few  of  us  who  find 

Our  old  homes'  welcome  door  ! 
The  more  pass  on  as  strangers  pass, 

And  strangers  ask  the  name 
Of  many  a  one,  whose  fathers  here 

Once  dwelt  secure  in  fame. 
'Tis  the  old  tale  !  but  we  must  turn 

To  find  our  mustering  place  ; 
Where  is  the  old  church  of  our  youth  ? 

Altar  of  faith  and  grace, 
Where  even  Summer  birds  found  rest 

Beneath  her  sheltering  eaves  ; 
To  children  of  her  covenant 

Much  more  she  welcome  gives  ! 
Alas  !  alas  !   "  burned  up  with  fire," 

Gone  for  this  many  a  year  ! 
And  though  another,  fairer  house 

With  worshippers  sincere, 


28  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Stands  where  it  stood,  and  where  they  met, 
Who  made  those  courts  so  blest, 

On  us  a  cold,  gray  shadow  falls, — 
This  place  is  not  our  rest. 

Old  homes  and  church  alike  are  gone 

Still  must  our  pilgrim  quest  go  on. 


Now  seek  we  still  some  Unchanged  spot, 

With  bated  breath  and  fears, 
Lest  touch  of  time  by  man  or  fate, 

In  thirty,  forty  years, 
Hath  made  familiar  places  strange, 

Us  old — once  young  together. 
Broken  forever  youthful  ties, 

And  left  us  doubting  whether 
Some  common  loves  and  tastes  remain, 
That  call  us  to  one  place  again. 

Ah  !  there's  the  old  Academy, 
We  greet  it,  roof  and  wall ! 

There,  there  it  stands  beneath  the  cliff, 
So  plain,  "  so  natural !" 

The  very  same  where  first  it  stood 
Full  forty  years  ago. 

Mature,  yet  not  infirm  in  age, 
Strong  still  its  work  to  do. 

Within  we  note  some  changes  slight, 
Like  wrinkles  in  a  face 

That  used  to  wear  but  dimples  bright, 
Have  dared  to  claim  a  place  ; 

We  yield  us  to  the  old-time  spell, 
The  place  we  sought  this  answers  well, 

'Twas  part  and  parcel  of  that  age, 
That,  in  their  honest  way, 

Our  fathers  builded,  like  themselves, 
This  plain  Academy. 


They  "  builded  better  than  they  knew,' 

Those  self-denying  sires, 
Living  or  dead  their  plan  we  praise, 

While  it  our  theme  inspires. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  29 

Utility  to  them  seemed  meet : 

For  them  the  classic  lines 
Of  Art  and  Beauty  had  not  shaped 

Fair  models  to  their  minds. 
Unto  their  simple,  untaught  eyes, 

No  wood  outmatched  the  pine  ;  . 
No  inlaid  floors,  no  frescoed  walls 

Did  taste  and  skill  combine ; 
They  only  sought  a  plain,  strong  tower, 

Whence  learning's  lamp  might  shed 
A  steady  ray,  unquenched  in  years, 

When  they,  less  taught,  had  fled 
This  lower  life,  elsewhere  to  find 

Reward  of  service  to  their  kind. 
What  cared  tue  then  for  plenishings  ? 

Our  school-rooms  seemed  complete, 
Maidens'  and  youths'  dear  company 

Made  lessons  doubly  sweet. 
Then  emulation  wrought  its  charm, 

Curbed  by  the  tie  that  springs, 
When  sex  with  sex  seeks  mastery 

In  tasks  which  learning  brings. 
Co-educators  then  were  we, 

Without  the  thought  of  harm, 
That  later  rose  to  vex  the  schools, 

And  raise  a  brief  alarm  ; 
Because  sex-fellowship  in  knowledge 
Aspires  to  step  from  here  to  college  ! 


How  dear  are  they  whose  names  with  ours, 

Answered  the  call  of  school  ! 
Their  forms,  their  laugh,  come  back  again, 

As  soothing  breezes  cool, 
As  evening  airs  that  fan  the  brow 

At  thoughtful  twilight  hour, 
While  we  forget  the  weary  day, 

And  care's  perplexing  power  : — 
We  think  of  them,  we  speak  their  names, 

Dear  school-mates  loved  in  truth, 
Bright  tablets  in  our  memories 

Hold  these  immortal  youth, 


30  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

With  tears  we,  whispering  softty,  say, 
Dead  school-mates,  every  one, 

Come  fill  your  place  with  us  to-day, 
'Tis  empty  else  and  lone  ! 

We  long  have  mourned  your  youth  and  love, 

Ye  mourn  not  in  that  world  above  ! 

Brimming  with  life  and  zeal  and  hope, 

We  all  looked  forth  together 
On  the  great  world  behind,  before, 

The  scholar's  best  endeavor  ; 
That  world  of  learning  boundless  grew, 

And  we  young  dreamers  then 
Caught  glimpses  of  far-beckoning  lives 

Awaiting  earnest  men; 
Of  broader,  fuller,  happier  ways, 

All  narrow  ones  we  scorned, 
Reward  of  patient  student  days, 

As  each  his  task  performed, 
We  know  some  found  the  goals  they  sought ; 

Some  but  a  tether,  strong, 
To  quiet,  useful,  homely  lives, — 

As  worthy  praise  in  song 
As  they  who  touched  the  ideals  of  youth, 

Happy  in  fulfilled  dreams, 
When  passing  years  fresh  honors  brought, 

And  joy's  renewed  beams. 
To  highest  teachings  constant  now 

Most  blest  are  they  who  here 
Can  trace  their  later,  steadfast  lives, 

To  influence  of  some  year 
When  teacher's  counsels  wrought  a  spell 

Upon  a  wayward  mind  ; 
And  friendly  comrades,  healthful  sports, 

Their  saving  help  combined. 

Beyond  the  added  honors  given 

To  teachers  honored  here 
By  worthy  pupils, — worthier  grown, 

As  nobler  grew  their  sphere, — 
We  now  recall,  with  calm  delight, 
Those  crowned  with  fellowship  in  light. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  31 

How  wise  they  seemed,  those  old  school-teachers, 
Whether  as  school-men  or  as  preachers  ! 

Dare  we  approach  them  here  and  dream 
We  are  more  nearly  peers, 

Than  in  the  years  we  have  recalled. 
Our  ignorant  young  years  ? 

We  will  not  drag  our  idols  down, 
Nor  yet  presume  to  he 

Equal  to  those  who  helped  us  climb 
Aloft,  toward  the  sky  ! 

Teachers  and  school-mates,  ever  kept 
In  memory  sweet  and  green, 

Linked  with  this  old  Academy, 
Like  fragrance  hid,  unseen, 

Within  the  homes  whereto  we  turn, 
Dwellers  by  mount  and  sea, 
Our  hearts  towards  schooldife  scenes  will  yearn, 
Ever  most  faithfully. 

We  greet  thee,  old  Academy, 
With  true  loving  loyalty  ; 
As  pilgrims  kneel  the  shrine  before, 
As  children  hail  the  household  door, 
We  old-time  school-mates  will  implore 
Blessings  alway  on  thee  ! 

The  following  Reunion  Hymn,  prepared  for  the  occasion 
by  Miss  P.  A.  Holder,  a  former  teacher  of  the  School,  was 
then  sung : 

MISS  HOLDER'S  REUNION  HYMN. 

From  o'er  the  hills  a  glad  voice  calls, 
On  waiting  hearts  its  welcome  falls  ; 
Our  year  of  jubilee  has  come, 
And  bids  our  scattered  band  come  home  ; 
Come  home,  to  rest  from  toil  and  care, 
Come  home,  in  love  and  joy  to  share, 
Come  home,  and  on  this  festal  day 
Gain  strength  to  tread  life's  onward  way. 

We  gladly  come,  we  gladly  come, 
To  greet  within  this  dear  old  home 


32  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

The  friends  beloved  of  other  days. 
On  hallowed  scenes  again  to  gaze, 
To  tread  once  more  the  classic  ground, 
Where  purest  pleasures  we  have  found. 
To  brighten  still  Love's  golden  chain, 
And  strengthen  broken  links  again. 

A  joyful  song,  a  joyful  song 

We  raise,  and  still  the  strain  prolong, 

And  lift  our  hearts  in  grateful  praise 

To  Him  whose  love  hath  crowned  our  days, 

Who  leads  us  through  green  pastures  fair, 

Where  streams  of  crystal  waters  are, 

And  still  guides  all  who  seek  His  love, 

To  perfect  peace  and  rest  above. 

Soft  voices  sweet,  soft  voices  sweet, 
From  hours  flown  by  on  swift-winged  feet, 
Of  memories  tender  whisper  low, 
And  thrill  our  trembling  spirits  now ; 
Still  may  this  treasured  love  of  old, 
Our  hearts  in  sympathy  enfold, 
Until  in  Jesus'  love  complete, 
As  one  in  His  dear  home  we  meet. 

THE  REUNION  DINNER  AND  SPEECHES. 

After  the  exercises  on  "  Fern  Cliff,"  a  procession  was 
formed,  and  under  the  direction  of  Chief  Marshal,  T.  L. 
Foote,  marched  to  the  dinner  tent  headed  by  the  Lee 
band.  There  were  exactly  279  in  the  procession  as  it 
passed  down  Main  street.  This  number  was  increased  by 
the  addition  of  those  who  had  not  gone  to  the  "  Cliff," 
so  that  at  the  tables  358  were  seated.  After  the  viands 
had  been  thoroughly  discussed,  the  speaking  was  opened 
by  Pres.  I.  W.  Andrews,  of  Marietta  College,  Ohio,  the 
first  Principal  of  the  Lee  Academy.  He  told  the  circum- 
stances of  his  call  to  his  first  position  ;  how,  four  weeks 
before  his  graduation  at  Williams  College,  Squire  Porter, 
President  of  the  Board  of  Academy  Trustees,  rapped  at 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  33 

his  door  one  morning  and  offered  him  the  place,  which  he 
accepted.  When  the  Academy  was  dedicated,  he,  the 
first  Principal,  made  the  dedicatory  address,  and  that  was 
his  first  essay  in  educational  literature.  On  his  roll  for 
the  first  year  were  110  names;  he  had  found  about  a  doz- 
en of  those  pupils  here.  He  then  spoke  of  some  of  his 
old  pupils  who  have  since  passed  from  earth — of  Charlotte 
Porter,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  girls  he  ever  knew ;  and 
Charles  Hulbert,  whose  noble  qualities  and  manly  char- 
acter made  his  death  so  deeply  felt.  The  first  day  of  his 
second  year  at  Lee  he  received  a  call  to  Marietta.  He 
went,  and  there  he  had  stayed.  Only  two — Stephen 
Thatcher  and  Leonard  Church — are  living,  of  the  men 
who  composed  the  Board  of  Trustees  when  he  was  princi- 
pal. Since  his  connection  with  Marietta  College,  citizens 
of  Lee  had  been  especially  liberal  towards  it, — giving 
$5,000  within  a  short  time  after  his  going  there,  and  add- 
ing some  fifty  per  cent,  to  that  amount  since.  He  could 
not  but  rejoice  that  his  life-work  had  been  begun  in  Lee, 
and  that  he  wras  able  to  come  back  to  so  interesting  a  cel- 
ebration. 

The  next  speaker  was  E.  A.  Hubbard,  now  agent  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  who  became  Principal 
of  the  Academy  in  1845,  and  remained  for  six  terms. 
He  was  married,  he  said,  in  '44,  and  with  his  wife  started 
West.  They  had  got  only  as  far  west  as  Lebanon  Springs 
when  their  funds  gave  out,  and  so  they  began  to  work 
there.  They  opened  a  school,  but  had  continued  it  only 
three  months  when  they  were  burned  out.  He  then  re- 
ceived and  accepted  an  invitation  to  come  to  Lee.  Mr. 
Hubbard  told,  with  good  effect,  of  a  skillful  bit  of  diplo- 
macy he  indulged  in  at  the  close  of  his  first  term.  He 
had  only  41  scholars,  and  as  he  was  running  the  school  as 
a  private  venture,  he  was  naturally  anxious  to  increase 
the   number.     So  when   the  examination  drew  near,  he 


34  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

told  his  scholars  they  needn't  expect  to  be  questioned  on 
what  they  knew,  but  rather  on  what  they  ought  to  know, 
and  cautioned  them  all,  if  they  couldn't  answer  his  ques- 
tions, to  say,  promptly  and  loudly,  "I  don't  know."  The 
plan  worked  to  a  charm.  The  "I  don't  knows"  came 
thick  and  fast  during  the  whole  examination,  and  his  pat- 
rons, when  they  saw  how  ignorant  their  children  ap- 
peared, at  once  determined  to  give  them  another  term  of 
instruction.  Lee  pride  was  aroused  ;  the  people  wouldn't 
have  their  children  so  ignorant,  and  in  consequence  Mr. 
Hubbard  opened  his  second  term  with  seventy-seven  pu- 
pils, nearly  double  the  number  of  the  first.  From  Lee 
he  went  to  Northampton,  as  High  School  Principal  there. 
He  thought  he  had  gained  the  affection  of  some  of  his 
pupils,  at  least,  for  when  he  came  back  on  a  visit,  a  few 
months  after,  one  of  them  threw  her  arms  around  his 
neck  and  kissed  him,  and  she  had  done  the  same  thing 
to-day. 

Mr.  Hubbard's  speech  wras  followed  by  music,  after 
which  an  interesting  "memorial  poem,"  written  by  Miss 
P.  A.  Holder,  and  addressed  to  the  High  School  pupils 
from  1856  to  1862,  was  read  by  Rev.  Dr.  Flint,  who  sup- 
plemented the  reading  with  some  words  of  his  own.  He 
alluded,  as  one  of  the  sweetest  things  coming  to  his  mem- 
ory at  this  time,  to  the  late  S.  A.  Hulbert,  whose  grand 
character  he  warmly  commended.  Dr.  Flint  read  a  letter 
from  Merced,  Cal.,  giving  some  facts  about  the  Houghton 
family,  the  younger  members  of  which  wrere  his  pupils, 
and  full  of  reminiscence  of  the  old  school  days. 

Ptev.  Dr.  Edward  Taylor  of  Binghamton,  N.  Y.,  intro- 
duced as  the  "  pioneer  bell-ringer  of  the  Academy,"  made 
one  of  his  characteristically  happy  speeches  which  have 
given  him  a  wide  fame  as  a  brilliant  after-dinner  speaker. 
It  wras  true,  he  said,  he  was  the  "  pioneer  bell-ringer." 
The  earlier  teachers  had  told  how  committees  had  waited 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  35 

on  them  to  secure  them  for  their  position ;  he  had  no 
committee  to  wait  on  him.  He  wanted  to  be  the  janitor 
and  to  ring  the  bell,  that  thus  he  might  get  his  tuition 
free.  He  sought  the  office,  it  didn't  seek  him.  It  was 
hard  work  for  him,  but  the  instruction  that  President 
Andrews  gave  was  worth  all  it  cost.  When  he  was  jan- 
itor he  had  a  way  of  hiding  the  key  in  a  place  he  thought 
nobody  knew.  But  he  used  to  find  evidences  of  some- 
body's having  been  in  the  building  before  he  got  there  in 
the  morning.  He  puzzled  over  it  for  a  long  time,  and  it 
never  was  quite  clear  to  him  how  the  key's  hiding  place 
was  found,  till,  that  very  morning,  some  one  said  to  him  at 
the  door  of  the  Academy,  "  You  hid  it  under  the  steps," 
and  the  fellow's  name  was  D wight  Thatcher.  While  he 
was  janitor,  he  used  sometimes  to  get  notes  from  Principal 
Andrews.  One  in  particular  he  recalled.  It  was  in  rela- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  floor  had  not  been  as  thoroughly 
swept  as  was  desirable.  He  would  take  this  opportunity 
to  say  to  Dr.  Andrews  that  lie  had  received  his  "little 
note."  He  recalled  how  scared  he  and  "  Liph  "  Wright 
were  once  to  receive  a  billet,  signed  "  I.  W.  A.,"  to  the 
effect  that  they  had  better  make  less  disturbance  in  school. 
He  knew  they  had  acted  like  angels,  and  so  he  went  to  Dr. 
Andrews  about  it  and  found  that,  after  all,  he  was  not 
the  writer.  Dr.  Taylor  then  told  how  Deacon  Hyde  had 
started  him  for  college,  as  he  had  so  many  others,  and  he 
felt  deeply  indebted  for  that  first  impulse.  He  wanted 
the  town  to  do  more  and  more  for  public  education. 

The  next  called  upon  was  Rev.  Dr.  E.  W.  Bentley  of  El- 
lenville,  N.  Y.  He  first  entered  the  Academy,  he  said,  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1841,  the  day  of  President  Harrison's 
inauguration,  and  most  of  his  school  exercises  that  day 
occurred  in  the  belfry.  He  remembered  attending,  in 
those  early  days,  a  laughing-gas  exhibition  in  the  Acad- 
emy  building,   and  how    "Jim"    Wakefield,  under    the 


db  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

influence  of  the  gas,  pitched  into  jolly  Dr.  Welch,  and  how 
Edward  Taylor  tried  to  jump  over  the  stove  but  didn't. 
Of  his  old  associates  in  the  Academy,  nearly  all  were 
gone.  He  could  see  but  three  or  four  faces  here  that  he 
recognized.  He  was  sorry  his  old  teacher,  Mr.  Kimball, 
whom  he  loved  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  was  not 
here  to  speak  for  himself,  on  this  very  pleasant  occasion. 
Mr.  Bentley  told  several  good  stories,  and  made  a  very 
enjoyable  speech. 

Franklin  Chamberlin  of  Hartford,  the  Centennial-day 
Orator,  thought  not  enough  had  been  said  of  the  first 
Teacher  who  made  the  Lee  Academy  possible — Alexan- 
der Hyde.  Such  an  impulse  was  given  to  education  by 
the  starting  of  Mr.  Hyde's  School,  that  it  was  perfectly 
impossible  for  the  town  not  to  provide  better  public  in- 
struction for  its  children.  To  Mr.  Hyde  was  very  greatly 
due  the  great  progress  Lee  has  made  in  education  within 
the  last  forty  years.  The  speaker  accounted  for  his 
present  lack  of  hair,  by  accusing  Mr.  Hyde  of  having 
pulled  it  out  in  those  early  days ;  but,  if  he  did,  its  want 
was  more  than  supplied  by  the  ideas  he  put  into  the  head 
beneath  it. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  then  called  upon  to  defend  himself 
against  the  hair-pulling  charge.  He  pleaded  "not 
guilty,"  though  he  admitted  once  taking  his  youthful 
pupil  by  the  hair — and  he  thought  he  deserved  it.  He 
spoke  briefly  of  some  of  his  early  scholars — of  Charles 
Hulbert,  Addison  Hunt,  Charles  Bassett,  too  early  remov- 
ed ;  Addison  Laflin,  Mansfield  Lovell,  the  brilliant  Caro- 
line Laflin,  of  Charlotte  Porter,  and  others. 

W.  J.  Bartlett  said  he  represented  the  stay-at-home 
class,  having  had  energy  enough  not  to  go  away  from 
Lee.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Academy  from  18o7  to 
1843,  graduating  in  the  latter  year  as  valedictorian  of  his 
class.     He  presented  an  old  exhibition  programme,  with 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  o7 

an  original  tragedy,  comedy,  etc.,  acted  by  himself  and 
others,  and  also  original  essays,  which  he  thought  then 
were  unsurpassable.  Mr.  Bartlett  stated,  that  he  was  dis- 
tinguished as  perhaps  the  only  boy  who  had  been  under 
the  instruction  of  both  Mr.  Hyde  and  Dr.  Andrews. 

Wellington  Smith  spoke,  as  a  citizen  of  Lee,  of  the 
feeling  in  which  the  High  School  is  held.  The  town  is 
proud  of  it.  In  the  course  of  instruction  it  gives,  it  is 
fully  equal  to  the  College  of  forty  years  ago.  The  citi- 
zens all  mean  to  sustain  it  and  have  no  fear  of  its  declin- 
ing in  usefulness  or  influence. 

The  speaking  then  came  down  to  the  younger  gradu- 
ates, the  first  called  up  being  Charles  May,  who  said  that 
instead  of  the  "  grog  "  the  fathers  would  have  felt  called 
upon  to  tender  their  guests,  he  would  give  a  good  strong 
decoction  of  "  brag."  The  High  School  had  good  ground 
for  bragging.  The  valedictorian  of  '68,  at  Williams,  was 
one  of  its  graduates;  the  man  who  led  the  Williams 
class  of  '71,  during  Freshman  year,  when  preparation 
especially  tells,  and  who  graduated  with  high  honor,  was 
also  one  ;  honor  men  at  Williams  and  Trinity  Colleges  in 
'73,  went  from  here,  as  did  also  the  valedictorian  at 
Brown  in  '74  and  at  Williams  in  '75.  Such  remarkable 
success  was  due  to  the  conscientious  faithfulness  and  the 
scholarly  ability  of  the  present  Principal. 

H.  R.  Gibbs  of  Boston,  spoke  pleasantly  of  his  connec- 
tion with  the  school,  and  of  the  many  pleasant  hours  he 
had  spent  there.  Pie  happily  excused  himself  from  mak- 
ing a  lengthy  speech,  by  quoting  the  Latin  sentiment, 
E pavvulo  par vum,  which  he  freely  translated,  "  From  a 
little  man  a  little  speech." 

C.  B.  Bullarcl,  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 
that  had  arranged  for  the  Reunion,  spoke  briefly  of  the 
pleasure  it  gave  the  resident  graduates  to  see  so  many 
former  members  of  the  Academv  and  High  School  at  this 


38  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

Reunion,  and  expressed  the  hope  that  they  would  find  it 
thoroughly  enjoyable. 

The  President  of  the  Day  then  said,  that  of  course  the 
graduates  would  be  pleased  to  hear  of  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  school,  and  he  would  call  upon  James  W. 
Sutherland,  one  of  the  present  members,  to  represent  it. 
Mr.  Sutherland  made  a  handsome  showing  for  the  school, 
and  his  remarks  were  received  with  hearty  applause. 

Letters  of  regret  were  read  from  J.  E.  Bradley  of  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.,  Judge  Tourgee  of  North  Carolina,  and  George 
F.  Perkins  of  New  York  City.  In  the  way  of  business, 
the  following  plan  for  a  permanent  organization  was  pre- 
sented by  C.  B.  Bullard,  and  was  unanimously  adopted, 
together  with  the  list  of  officers  proposed : 

CONSTITUTION   OF   THE   LEE   HIGH   SCHOOL    ALUMNI 
ASSOCIATION. 

Article  1. — This  Association  shall  be  called  the  Lee  High  School 
Reunion  Association.  Its  object  shall  be  to  cultivate  social  intercourse 
among  its  members. 

Art.  2. — The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  be  a  President,  five 
Vice-Presidents,  a  Secretary,  a  Treasurer,  and  an  Executive  Committee 
of  nine,  and  shall  be  chosen  annually. 

Art.  3. — All  persons  whose  studies  at  the  Lee  Academy  or  High 
School  have  been  completed,  may  become  members  of  this  Association 
by  subscribing  to  the  Constitution. 

Art.  4. — There  shall  be  an  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Association,  at 
such  time  and  place  and  with  such  exercises  as  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee may  determine. 

Art.  5. — This  Constitution  may  be  amended  by  a  two-thirds  vote 
of  the  members  present  at  any  regular  meeting. 

The  list  of  officers  chosen  under  this  Constitution  was 
as  follows :  President,  Wellington  Smith  ;  Vice-Presidents, 
A.  C.  Sparks,  E.  H.  Barlow,  D.  W.  Allen,  John  Delaney, 
Charles  May ;  Secretary,  S.  V.  Halsey ;  Treasurer,  H.  C. 
Phelps ;  Executive  Committee,  C.  H.  Sabin,  T.  L.  Foote, 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  39 

B.  H.  Taintor,  H.  H.  Garfield,  Charles  D.  McCarthy,  Mrs. 
A.  C.  Sparks,  Mrs.  G.  F.  Bradley,  Mrs.  William  May,  Miss 
Mary  R.  Hyde. 

Dr.  W.  F.  Holcombe  of  New  York,  called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  High  School,  while  provided  with  able 
teachers,  was  not  furnished  with  a  philosophical  appara- 
tus. Such  teachers  should  have  all  available  appliances 
to  aid  in  their  labors,  and  he  offered  to  be  one  of  twenty- 
five  to  give  twenty-five  dollars  each  for  the  purchase  of 
apparatus.  He  made  this  offer,  he  said,  because  of  the 
kindness  shown  him  in  this  town,  when  he  was  a  medical 
student  here,  especially  by  Mrs.  T.  A.  Hall,  wife  of  the 
Principal  of  the  High  School,  and  herself  a  teacher  in  the 
school.  This  generous  offer  of  Dr.  Holcombe  drew  out  a 
response  from  our  large-hearted  citizen,  Mr.  Elizur  Smith, 
who  said  he  was  not  aware  of  the  deficiency  of  the  school 
in  this  respect,  and  promised  to  aid  in  remedying  the  de- 
fect, a  promise  he  fully  redeemed  Centennial  Day,  by  a 
donation  of  five  hundred  dollars.  Thus  happily  ended 
Reunion  Day,  a  fitting  prelude  to  the  Jubilee  of  the  Cen- 
tennial. 

CENTENNIAL  DAY. 

The  morning  of  Centennial  opened  bright,  and  at  an 
early  hour  the  crowd  began  to  assemble  to  witness  the 
procession  of  fan tastics,  representing  the  aboriginal  owners 
of  the  soil,  and  the  costumes  and  customs  of  the  first 
white  settlers,  mingled  with  some  grotesque  negroes  and 
other  characters,  partly  historical  and  partly  fabulous. 
This  part  of  the  program  the  Committee  were  not  re- 
sponsible for,  but  winked  at  it  for  the  humor  of  the  thing 
and  the  gratification  of  the  multitude.  Mr.  H.  N.  Horton 
was  master  of  these  ceremonies,  and  the  manner  of  their 
execution  did  great  credit  to  his  genius  and  executive 
ability  in  this  line.  It  had  been  arranged  that  this  pro- 
cession should  move  at  8  o'clock,  and  should  be  heralded 


40  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

by  the  ringing  of  all  the  bells  in  the  village  and  the 
blowing  of  the  steam-whistles  of  the  several  mills.  The 
bells  and  whistles  were  on  time,  and  made  the  hills  to 
echo  and  re-echo  with  their  clangor.  Heading  the  parade 
was  a  detachment  of  special  police. 

Then  came  the  Water  Witch  drum  corps,  followed  by 
a  troop  of  mounted  Indian  warriors.  Succeeding  these 
was  a  company  of  plantation  darkies  seated  on  a  stu- 
pendous ox-cart,  followed  by  a  number  of  grotesque  fig- 
ures on  horseback,  among  them  the  Father  of  his  Coun- 
try with  his  beloved  Martha  and  the  rotund  FalstafF. 
Next  in  the  procession,  was  a  log  cabin  of  the  olden  time, 
with  the  aged  sire  peaceably  smoking  his  pipe,  while  his 
ancient  companion  plied  the  busy  needles.  Then  came 
a  collection  of  spinning  wheels,  worked  by  dames  in  the 
costumes  of  the  past  century.  Another  detachment  of 
masked  horsemen,  of  jolly  negro  minstrels,  several  wag- 
ons of  old  etc.,  wTith  a  pair  of  wagon  wheels  conspicu- 
ously labeled  "  The  first  wagon  wheels  used  in  town," 
brought  up  the  rear.  In  front  of  Memorial  Hall  the  pro- 
cession halted,  on  its  course  down  Main  street,  and  C.  E. 
Tucker  delivered  an  elaborate  and  highly-finished  oration 
— bright,  witty,  and  full  of  taking  local  hits. 

At  ten  o'clock,  the  hour  appointed  for  the  literary  ex- 
ercises of  the  day,  the  Congregational  Church,  with  a 
seating  capacity  for  twelve  hundred,  was  filled  as  it  was 
never  filled  before.  Every  seat  was  occupied  and  the 
aisles  were  crowded.  Hon.  Harrison  Garfield  presided  and 
called  the  assembly  to  order,  prefacing  the  exercises  with 
the  following  introduction : 

GREETING  OE  MR.  GARFIELD. 

Fellow  Citizens,  Ladies  and   Gentlemen  : 

The  hour  lias  arrived  to  which  we  have  invited  you  to  join  with  us  in 
celebrating  this  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  incorporation  of  this  town. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  41 

An  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  on  the 
eighteenth  day  of  October,  1777,  was  passed  incorporating  several 
grants  of  land  that  had  been  made  to  individuals  and  corporations, 
into  the  town  of  Lee,  giving  it  a  name,  place  and  standing  among 
the  towns  that  surround  us,  the  youngest  of  them  all. 

In  view  of  the  approaching  Centennial  of  its  incorporation,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town,  in  town  meeting  assembled,  in  April,  1876, 
voted  unanimously  to  notice,  in  an  appropriate  manner,  this  event, 
and  to  have  collated  and  published  an  authentic  history  of  the  town, 
and  chose  a  Committee  of  thirteen  of  its  citizens  to  take  in  charge 
this  matter. 

In  pursuance  of  these  instructions  of  the  town,  the  Committee 
entered  upon  their  labors,  and  fortunately  secured  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Charles  M.  Hyde,  a  grandson  of  our  late  greatly  beloved  and  long- 
time pastor,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Alvan  Hyde,  to  engage  in  these  labors. 
Mr.  Hyde  entered  upon  this  work  with  much  energy  early  in  the 
year  1876,  searching  the  records  of  this  town  and  in  the  State 
Department  at  Boston,  and  in  all  places  where  scraps  of  information 
could  be  found,  prosecuting  his  labors  nearly  to  completion,  up  to 
February  last,  when  he  received  an  appointment  from  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  to  take  charge  of  the 
Pacific  Theological  Institution,  at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  It  was 
expected  that  Dr.  Hyde  would  give  the  Historical  Address.  The 
Committee,  however,  were  brought  to  no  extremity  in  thus  being 
called  to  part  with  him,  but  fortunately  secured  the  Hon.  Franklin 
Chamberlin,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  who  was  a  long-time  resident  of 
this  town,  to  give  this  address. 

This  history  is  now  nearly  completed,  and  is  in  preparation  for  the 
press,  and,  when  published,  we  believe  will  be  an  authentic  history  of 
this  town. 

These  remarks  I  make  that  you  may  know  what  action  the  town 
has  taken  in  this  matter,  preliminary  to  engaging  in  the  further 
exercises  of  this  occasion,  as  set  forth  in  the  printed  programs  that 
have  been  distributed  among  the  audience. 

To  you,  former  residents  and  descendants  of  former  residents  of 
Lee,  many  of  whom  have  come  long  distances  to  be  with  us  on  this 
to  us  most  interesting  occasion,  we  tender  our  congratulations  upon 
being  with  us,  and  can  only  say  that  our  hearts  and  homes  are  open 
to  you,  and  we  hope  you  will  make  your  stay  with  us  as  long  as  it 
shall  be  your  pleasure  to  do  so,  and  enjoy  our  hospitalities. 
G 


42  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Garfield's  remarks,  the  Lee  Cornet 
Band,  under  the  direction  of  Capt.  A.  V.  Shannon, 
played  a  greeting  overture,  and  President  Hopkins,  of 
Williams  College,  led  the  assembly  in  prayer.  The  fol- 
lowing ode,  by  E.  W.  B.  Canning,  Esq.,  of  Stockbridge, 
was  then  sung  by  the  choir : 

ME.  CANNING'S  ODE. 

'Tis  not  the  trump  of  war, 

Or  noise  of  deadly  fray, 
That  summons  from  afar 

Old  Berkshire's  sons  to-day  ; 

But  peaceful  hosts 

Kejoicing  come, 
And  songs  of  praise 

Displace  the  drum. 

In  hope  and  faith  our  sires, 

The  precious  seed  to  sow, 
Here  lit  their  altar  fires 

One  hundred  years  ago. 

With  life  and  cheer 

The  desert  rang, 
And  homes  amid 

The  forest  sprang. 

How  hath  the  weak  and  small 

To  wealth  and  honor  grown  ! 
How  hath  the  least  of  all 

Become  a  mighty  one  ! 

So  to  the  hrave 

And  good  'tis  given, 
And  toil  obtains 

The  smile  of  Heaven. 

Ye  exiles  who  afar 

Have  sought  another  home, 
To  greet  the  eastern  star 

With  willing  feet  ye've  come. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  43 

The  mother's  call 

Ye  still  obey, 
And  welcome  glad 

She  speaks  to-day. 

0,  wander  as  we  will 

O'er  fairest  scenes  of  earth, 
One  place  is  dearest  still — 

The  spot  that  gave  us  hirth. 

No  sky  so  bright, 

No  fields  so  fair, 
No  friends  so  dear 

As  childhood's  are. 

May  He  whose  hanner  led 

Our  fathers  in  the  past, 
His  constant  blessing  shed 

While  centuries  shall  last. 

And  be  these  hills 

And  vales  the  home 
Of  thrift  and  peace 

Long  years  to  come. 

ADDRESS    OF  WELCOME    BY    HON.   WILLIAM   TAYLOR, 
OF  LEE. 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

When  this  town  of  Lee  was  incorporated,  a  century  ago,  not  more 
than  150  persons  resided  within  its  limits,  and  nearly,  or  quite,  half 
of  its  able-bodied  men  were  in  the  Revolutionary  army. 

Dense  forests  covered  most  of  its  soil ;  few  highways  had  been 
opened ;  bridges  did  not  then  span  our  streams  ;  the  dwellings  of  the 
early  settlers  were  rudely  constructed,  and  rudely  furnished,  and  all  of 
the  earlier  town  and  religious  meetings  were  held  in  the  dwellings  or 
barns  of  these  settlers. 

What  changes  in  a  hundred  years !  Of  the  early  fathers  and  moth- 
ers, not  one  remains.  The  same  grand  old  mountains  and  hills  encir- 
cle us,  and  the  same  valleys  are  spread  beneath  our  feet,  but  now  "  the 
pastures  are  clothed  with  flocks,  and  the  valleys,  also,  are  covered  over 
with  corn."  The  same  bright  streams  still  "to  the  ocean  run,"  but  at 
the  bidding  of  intelligent  enterprise  they  now  bring  to  us  the  hum  and 


44  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

reward  of  well  directed  industry.  Then  no  church  edifice  or  school 
house  had  been  erected  here.  Now  the  structures  which  you  here  see, 
speak  for  themselves. 

And  to  these  pioneer  fathers,  we  are  largely  indebted  for  our  present 
prosperity.  Amid  poverty  and  great  privation,  "  in  weakness  which 
became  strength,"  they  patiently  and  perseveringly  labored  and  prayed, 
and  we  have  entered  into  the  fruit  of  their  labors.  They  opened  the 
forests ;  they  cleared  and  cultivated  these  fields  ;  they  trained  up 
Christian  households;  they  planted  the  Church  and  the  school;  and 
in  Christian  faith  and  hope,  they  laid  deep  and  strong  the  foundations 
of  our  best  institutions.     Honor,  everlasting  honor,  to  their  memory. 

In  reviewing  the  history  of  their  faithful  labors,  we  find  the  names 
of  Yale  and  Ingersoll  and  Bradley ;  of  Bassett  and  Thatcher  and 
Foote,  and  others  of  like  spirit,  who  wrought  valiantly  and  faithfully, 
and  with  wise  forecast,  to  secure  privileges  which  have  made  us  indeed 
a  favored  people.  And  in  this  good  work,  they  were  for  more  than 
forty  years  led  by  their  sainted  pastor  of  precious  memory,  Bev.  Dr. 
Alvan  Hyde,  "  whose  record  is  on  high." 

We,  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Lee,  should  be  grateful  that  so  rich 
an  inheritance  is  ours,  and  we  should  guard  it  well.  Should  we  not 
lovingly  commemorate  the  virtues  and  cherish  the  memory  of  these 
heroic,  God-fearing  fathers  and  mothers,  and  tread  reverently  the  soil  on 
which  they  labored  and  died;   the  soil  of  our  birth  and  of  their  burial? 

You,  the  returning  children  of  Lee,  may  in  yonder  cemetery  find  a 
greater  number  of  familiar  names,  "than  you  will  see  of  familiar  faces, 
in  our  homes  and  in  our  streets ;  but  these  revered  ancestors  still  live 
in  our  memories  and  in  the  blessed  influence  of  institutions  of  educa- 
tion and  religion  which  they  founded  and  fostered,  and  in  the  good 
example  which  they  left  to  us.  Thus,  though  dead,  they  yet  speak  to 
us.  Nor  is  the  influence  of  their  example  and  their  lives  limited  to 
the  place  of  their  labors.  You  have  all  felt  more  or  less  of  its  mould- 
ing power,  and  every  community  in  which  your  lot  has  been  cast,  has 
been  in  some  measure  impressed  by  it. 

And  now,  on  this  beautiful  day,  with  the  stars  and  stripes  floating 
in  (he  breeze,  and  all  around  us,  in  behalf  of  the  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments for  celebrating  this  Centennial  of  the  Incorporation  of  this  town 
of  Lee,  and  of  all  its  citizens,  I  extend  a  cordial  welcome  to  all  who 
have  come  to  aid  and  cheer  us  by  their  presence  and  by  their  kindly 
interest  in  these  reunion  services. 

To  you,  our  brother,  the  orator  of  the  clay,  and  to  her,  whom  in  life's 
younger  days  you  here  chose  to  be  your  partner  for  life,  I  extend  a 
glad  and  hearty  welcome. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  45 

We  rejoice  that  in  our  opening  Invocation  we  were  led  by  that  pil- 
lar of  strength  to  Williams  College  and  the  Church,  Rev.  Dr.  Hopkins, 
to  whom  the  town  of  Lee  should  he  grateful  for  training  her  cultured 
sons  who  all  love  him  as  a  father,  at  whose  feet  many  educated  men 
have  sat,  as  did  Paul  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel. 

Under  the  date  of  September  26th,  1776,  (one  year  before  the  incor- 
poration of  the  town,)  we  find  the  record  of  the  first  marriage  which 
appears  on  the  records  of  the  town,  to  wit :  that  of  "  Capt.  Josiah 
Yale  to  Ruth  Tracey."  We  rejoice  to  see  in  this  audience,  a  son  of 
this  first  recorded  marriage,  our  venerable  former  townsman,  Mr.  Jo- 
siah Yale,  and  his  two  daughters,  and  his  grandchildren  and  great- 
grandchildren, thus  presenting  to  us,  in  a  goodly  group,  every  link 
(from  childhood  up)  of  a  living,  present,  close  connection  with  one  of 
the  earliest  and  best  of  the  households  of  the  town. 

Returning  sons  and  daughters  of  Lee,  welcome,  thrice  welcome  to 
you  all !  May  God  bless  you,  every  one.  We  welcome  you  to  this 
dear  old  home,  around  which  cluster  such  tender  memories.  We  wel- 
come you  to  this  spot,  made  sacred  by  the  fond  remembrance  of  a  fa- 
ther's love,  of  a  mother's  unceasing  care,  and  of  the  affections  of 
brothers  and  sisters.  We  welcome  you  to  this  your  native  soil,  which 
is  hallowed  in  holding  the  precious  dust  of  loved  ones  who  have  gone 
before  us  to  their  everlasting  rest.  We  cordially  welcome  you  to  our 
hearts,  to  the  hospitality  of  our  homes,  and  to  all  the  festivities  of  this 
thanksgiving-day — not  of  a  year,  but  of  a  century. 

And  wre  not  only  welcome,  but  thank  you  for  coming  from  your 
widely  scattered  homes,  to  join  us  in  this  family  gathering  at  the 
"  Old  Homestead,"  that  we  may  here  renew  former  friendships ;  that 
we  may  here  join  hands  in  mutual  love ;  that  we  may,  from  your  own 
lips,  learn  of  the  way  in  which  God  has  led  you  ;  that  we  may  here 
encourage  and  strengthen  each  other  in  all  worthy  endeavor ;  that  we 
may,  in  this  consecrated  place,  unite  in  thanks  for  mercies  past,  and 
in  petition  for  blessings  to  us  and  to  those  who  shall  succeed  us  in  all 
time  to  come.  Bound  to  you,  as  we  are,  by  the  fond  memories  of 
early  days,  and  by  the  ties  of  blood  and  of  affection,  we  rejoice  in  your 
prosperity  and  honor. 

Life  passes  rapidly  away.  We  cannot  again  all  meet  on  earth. 
May  this  reunion  be  to  each  of  us  a  type  and  presage  of  an  immortal 
union  in  that  better  land  of  eternal  life,  and  light,  and  joy.  There 
may  we  all,  as  members  of  the  "  household  of  faith,"  be  greeted  by 
the  songs  of  angels,  and  by  our  Divine  Master  and  Savior  to  a  blessed 
"Welcome  Home!  " 


46  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

RESPONSE  BY  HON.  WILLIAM  HYDE,   OF   WARE. 

There  is  nothing  more  pleasant  than  a  cordial  welcome.  To  return 
to  the  home  of  our  youth  seems  to  be  a  natural  desire.  One  of  our 
sweetest  poets  who  began  in  his  boyhood  to  chant  the  smoothly  flow- 
ing numbers  of  "  Thanatopsis  "  near  the  sources  of  the  Agawam,  and 
in  his  early  professional  life  on  the  banks  of  the  Housatonic,  sang  of 
"  Green  River,"  and  of  "  Monument  Mountain,"  returns  in  his  green 
old  age  to  his  paternal  acres  to  bless  the  dwellers  in  that  secluded 
mountain  town,  with  the  material  for  their  mental  and  social  culture. 
To  those  of  us  who  went  out  from  you  in  the  morning  of  life,  it  is 
pleasant  to  feel  that  the  place  where  we  were  born  and  reared  is  one 
to  which  we  can  refer  with  pride.  We  have  never  heard  the  question, 
"  Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  her  ?"  Good  things  have  been 
expected,  and  many  good  men  and  women  have  gone  from  Lee  to  bless 
all  parts  of  the  land  and  of  the  world.  But  the  good  did  not  all  go. 
We  see  around  us  evidence  that  not  all  of  the  energy  and  enterprise 
has  sought  other  fields.  The  new  comers  have  perhaps  more  than 
made  good  your  losses.  We  have  watched  your  growth,  and  have 
rejoiced  in  your  prosperity.  The  blessings  of  Heaven  have  been 
sought,  and  not  in  vain.  The  church  has  kept  pace  with  your  busi- 
ness enterprise.  Your  schools  have  been  carefully  watched.  Your 
leading  men  have  been  on  the  side  of  good  order  and  of  the  institutions 
of  piety  and  religion.  Few  places  can  show  a  more  healthy  growth, 
or  present  a  more  cheerful  and  thrifty  appearance. 

My  lot  has  been  cast  not  far  from  you,  and  for  fifty  years  my  visits 
have  been  more  than  that  number.  The  changes  do  not  appear  so 
great  to  me  as  to  those  who  come  back  after  a  long  absence.  The 
first  paper  mill  was  built  here  the  year  of  my  birth.  The  slow 
process  of  dipping  the  mould  in  the  pulp  and  laying  each  sheet  on  the 
felt  was  carefully  watched  by  me  when  a  boy.  Twenty  years  ago,  Lee 
was  said  to  produce  more  paper  than  any  other  town  in  the  United 
States.  Other  places  may  do  more  now.  Your  population  has  quad- 
rupled, and  your  business  has  done  much  more  than  that.  It  is  not 
with  your  material  thrift  that  the  deepest  interest  is  felt.  We  turn 
back  to-day  to  the  men  who  early  came  here  and  gave  form  and  char- 
acter to  society.  Some  of  us  seem  to  stand  as  connecting  links 
1  ictween  those  men  and  the  coming  generations. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  when  the  election  of  governor  was  on  the 
first  Monday  in  April,  when  the  mud  was  deep  and  the  snow  banks 
prevented  moving  on  wheels,  I  saw  coming  down  Howk's  hill  by  my 
father's   house   a  venerable  man    seated    in  an  arm-chair  in  a  large 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  47 

sleigh,  drawn  by  two  horses.  His  hair  was  white,  he  wore  a  cocked 
hat  and  gray  overcoat,  and  leaned  upon  his  staff  for  support  as  the 
sleigh  was  drawn  across  the  bridge  up  to  the  front  door  of  the  church, 
where  the  town  meetings  were  then  held.  Two  strong  men,  his 
grandsons,  lifted  the  chair  and  its  occupant  from  the  sleigh  and  bore 
him  up  the  broad  aisle  to  the  deacon's  seat,  where  he  deposited  his 
vote  for  Caleb  Strong  for  Governor.  This  must  have  been  in  1814 
or  '15,  when  politics  ran  high  between  the  Federals  and  Democrats. 
That  man  was  William  Ingersoll,  the  moderator  of  the  first  town 
meeting,  chairman  of  the  first  Board  of  Selectmen,  and  of  the  "Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence,"  the  first  Town  Treasurer  and  Highway 
Surveyor,  and  whose  name  stands  first  as  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church,  organized  in  1780.  His  farm  bordered  on  the  Housa- 
tonic  from  the  quarry  on  the  Van  Deusen  farm,  nearly  around  to 
South  Lee.  His  house  stood  opposite  the  bend  of  the  river,  on  the 
brow  of  the  hill  just  east  of  the  brick  house  of  Mr.  Langdon.  He 
was  the  owner  of  about  1,000  acres  of  excellent  land,  and  planted  his 
seven  sons,  Moses,  Aaron,  David,  Elijah,  Jared,  William,  and  Calvin, 
around  him.  His  descendants  of  the  sixth  generation  are  here 
to-day,  inheriting  the  blessings  of  a  pious  ancestry. 

As  Mr.  Taylor  has  said,  the  first  marriage  recorded  upon  the  town 
records  is  that  of  Capt.  Josiah  Yale  and  Ruth  Tracey,  September  26th, 
1776.  For  twenty  years  he  was  selectman,  and  represented  the  town 
in  the  Legislature  six  years.  Modest  and  retiring  in  his  manners, 
his  wisdom  and  discretion  gave  him  great  influence  in  the  town  and 
in  the  Church.  He  was  a  healer  of  difficulties,  and  to  him  was  the 
town  greatly  indebted  for  the  church  building  erected  in  1800.  His 
descendants  of  the  fifth  generation  appear  and  are  the  same  as  the 
sixth  of  William  Ingersoll.     I  name  these  two  as  representative  men. 

The  town  has  been  greatly  blessed  in  its  ministry.  It  does  not 
become  me  to  speak  fully  of  the  long  and  faithful  services  of  Dr. 
Hyde.  He  came  here  at  the  age  of  22,  when  there  were  but  21  males 
in  the  Church.  The  records  show  110  additions  in  eighteen  months, 
and  more  than  700  during  his  ministry.  He  feared  God  and  loved 
this  people.  He  was  really  the  first  one  to  act  as  pastor.  The 
weekly  conferences  in  the  seven  school  districts  in  rotation,  when  he 
would  propose  a  subject  and  ask  each  one  present  to  express  his 
views,  and  sum  up  the  case  himself,  brought  him  in  close  connection 
with  the  people  and  gave  him  great  power  and  influence.  One  who 
did  not  sympathize  with  him  in  his  religious  views  once  said  to  him 
that  "  Lee  was  Hyde  bound."  It  was  in  the  family  that  I  have  the  most 
occasion  to  remember  him.     The  morning  and  evening  prayers,  the 


48  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Saturday  evening  Biblical  and  catechetical  lessons  and  songs  of 
praise,  are  among  my  most  hallowed  remembrances.  There  were 
eleven  of  us  children.  We  could  all  repeat  the  Assembly's  Shorter 
Catechism,  the  questions  being  asked  without  a  book  and  the  slightest 
mistake  corrected.  A  good  man's  influence  is  perpetuated  after  he  is 
gone. 

Of  Dr.  Gale  I  might  speak  more  freely.  His  first  pastorate  of 
nine  years  was  over  my  own  church.  He  came  to  you  with  a  rich 
experience,  a  love  for  his  work,  and  for  this  people,  which  endured  to 
the  end.  We  were  always  fast  friends,  and  counselled  together  in 
matters  pertaining  to  Christ's  kingdom  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
has  so  recently  passed  away  I  will  not  enlarge.  You  have  honored 
yourselves  in  honoring  his  memory.  These  pastors  died  in  office,  and 
their  graves  are  with  you. 

In  all  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  here  in  fifty  years,  noth- 
ing is  more  marked  than  in  the  drinking  customs  of  the  people.  I 
am  not  inclined  to  say,  "  The  former  days  were  better  than  these."  I 
see  progress  all  around.  When  Dr.  Hyde  was  settled  here  in  1792, 
with  a  salary  of  sixty  pounds,  ($200,^  to  aid  him  in  building  a  house,  a 
subscription  of  thirty  pounds  was  made  payable  in  materials  and 
labor.  The  first  and  largest  sum,  by  the  principal  merchant,  was 
fifteen  shillings  "  in  nails,  glass  or  cider."  In  my  boyhood,  the  use 
of  intoxicating  drinks  was  almost  universal.  There  were  seven 
taverns  and  as  many  stores  that  sold  them  in  a  population  of  1,200. 
Cider-brandy  distilleries  were  frequent.  When  the  Berkshire  Asso- 
ciation of  thirty  Congregational  ministers  was  to  meet  here,  I  was 
sent  to  the  store  for  two  quarts  of  Santa  Cruz  and  two  quarts  of 
Jamaica  spirits,  one  dozen  of  pipes  and  two  large  papers  of  tobacco. 
The  clergy  used  both  spirits  and  tobacco.  It  was  thought  inhospita- 
ble not  to  offer  them  on  all  occasions.  I  have  attended  weddings, 
where  " cider-brandy  sling"  came  around  in  pint  tumblers,  from  which 
all  drank,  the  bride  and  groom  first,  then  the  minister.  These 
customs  were  fearful.  The  church  records  will  show  repeated 
confessions  of  its  members  who  were  overcome.  The  American 
Temperance  Society  was  formed  in  1826.  The  ministers  and  leading 
men  took  hold  of  the  work  in  earnest.  The  blessing  of  God  followed. 
Many  were  saved  whose  feet  had  well  nigh  slipped.  Are  not  these 
better  days  ?  What  minister  or  church  member,  or  any  other  man, 
has  any  standing  who  indulges  an  appetite  for  strong  drink  ?  Who 
that  loves  his  fellow  men  will  now  sell  it  ? 

I  could  indulge  without  limit  in  reminiscences  that  might  be 
interesting,  but  I  leave  them  for  the  orator  and  the  historian. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  49 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Hyde's  address,  the  choir  sang 
the  following  Anthem,  prepared  for  the  occasion  by  Miss 
P.  A.  Holder,  formerly  the  Assistant  Principal  of  the  Lee 
Hi^h  School  : 


■o" 


On  the  dial  of  the  ages, 

Marked  by  path  of  rolling  years, 
See  the  hand  majestic  pointing 

Where  a  cycle  full  appears. 
Pause — its  hour  sublime  is  sounding 

From  the  minaret  of  Time, 
Answering  bells  in  silver  chorus 

Ringing  out  our  Century's  chime. 

Circling  on,  the  clear  vibrations 

Through  our  peaceful  valley  sweep, 
While  the  listening,  waiting  mountains 

Echoing,  give  responses  deep. 
Catch  the  strain  in  swelling  choral, 

Eoll  the  full,  deep  tide  along, 
Raise  our  Century's  lofty  anthem 

On  the  voice  of  sacred  song. 

While  the  fathers  sleep,  their  children 

Welcome  this  auspicious  day, 
Live  to  see  the  light  and  glory 

Shining  o'er  the  Century's  way. 
Standing  on  this  mount  of  vision, 

Wondrous  things  our  eyes  behold, 
Life  grows  nobler,  richer,  purer, 

Precious  joys  the  years  unfold. 

God,  who  sitteth  in  the  heavens, 

Throned  amid  eternal  spheres, 
In  whose  sight  an  era  mighty, 

Like  a  passing  day  appears. 
God,  our  God,  we  bow  before  Thee, 

Gratefully,  adoring  fall, 
Thou  hast  crowned  the  years  with  goodi 

Thou  hast  blest  and  given  all. 

7 


50  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

HISTORICAL  ADDRESS   BY   FRANKLIN   CHAMBERLLN, 
Esq.,    OF   HARTFORD. 

Stretching  from  the  southern  boundary  of  Vermont  on  the  north, 
to  the  north  line  of  Connecticut  on  the  south,  and.  hounded  on  the 
west  by  the  State  of  New  York,  and  on  the  east  hy  our  counties  of 
Hampshire,  Hampden  and  Franklin,  is  an  uneven  tract  of  about  950 
square  miles,  which  constitutes  the  western  section  of  Massachusetts, 
and  which  (having  previously  belonged  to  the  old  county  of  Hamp- 
shire,) was,  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  George  III.,  made  a  dis- 
tinct county,  and  in  honor  of  the  pleasant  inland  county  of  "  Berks," 
in  old  England,  was  called  "Berkshire."  The  county  is  of  unequal 
breadth,  being,  on  the  line  of  Vermont,  only  about  fourteen  miles, 
while  upon  the  southern  boundary  it  is  about  twenty-four  miles  wide. 
Its  surface  is  pleasantly  broken  by  high  hills  and  deep  valleys.  On 
the  east,  we  have  a  continuation  of  the  Green  Mountains  chain  from 
Vermont,  southward  into  Connecticut,  and  this  range  is  graduated 
from  its  summit  westward,  by  two  or  three  ranges  of  hills  of  less  ele- 
vation, till  we  come  to  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic  river;  and  even 
through  this  valley,  there  are  distinct  ranges  of  elevated  land,  which 
have  been  so  broken  by  the  attrition  of  the  centuries,  as  to  appear  to 
a  traveler  like  distinct  and  isolated  hills.  Along  the  western  bound- 
ary is  the  Taconic  range  of  mountains,  which  extends  by  its  easterly 
spurs  from  one  to  four  miles,  toward  the  center  of  the  county.  The 
elevation  of  several  points  in  the  east  (the  Green  Mountain)  range,  is 
about  1,800  or  2,000  feet  abovo  the  valley,  and  its  general  summit 
level  may  be  taken  as  about  1,  600  feet.  "  Saddle  Mountain,"  lying  be- 
tween Williamstown  and  New  Ashford,  on  the  west,  and  Adams  and 
Cheshire  on  the  east,  is  considered  as  belonging  to  the  eastern  range. 
Its  highest  summit,  "Greylock,"  nearly  west  of  the  village  of  Adams,  is 
2,600  feet  above  the  level  of  the  valley  at  Williams  College,  and  about 
3,580  feet  above  tide-water  at  Albany,  being  the  highest  point  in  the 
Commonwealth.  The  Taconic  Range  is  much  more  elevated  and 
broken  in  the  south  part  of  the  county  than  in  the  north.  Its  gen- 
eral elevation,  below  the  middle  of  the  county,  is  about  1,200  to  1,400 
feet.  It  is  considerably  higher  in  Egremont,  and  its  highest  summit, 
called  sometimes  "Mount  Washington,"  and  again  "  Mount  Everett,"  is 
about  3,150  feet  above  tide-water  of  the  Housatonic. 

THE  RIVERS  OF  BERKSHIRE. 

Among  these  hills  and  mountain  peaks,  the  chief  of  the  valleys,  are 
the  Housatonic  and  the  Hoosac  valleys.  The  first  is  formed  and  fer- 
tilized by  the  river  which  gives  it  its  name;  and  the  last  is  watered 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  51 

and  beautified  by  the  Hoosac  and  its  tributaries.  The  Housatonic 
has  two  principal  sources,  the  eastern,  rising  in  Windsor  and  passing 
south-westerly,  through  Dalton  (where  it  is  increased  by  a  consider- 
able stream  from  Hinsdale),  to  Pittsfield,  at  which  place  it  is  joined 
by  the  western  branch,  which  mainly  originates  in  the  beautiful  lake 
lying  on  the  west  side  of  the  road  leading  from  Pittsfield  to  Lanes- 
boro,  and  pleasantly  covering  a  part  of  the  dividing  boundary  of  those 
towns,  by  its  mile  and  more  of  length  and  breadth.  In  addition  to 
the  Housatonic  and  the  Hoosac,  which  are  its  principal  streams,  Berk- 
shire has  numerous  other  small  streams,  tributary  to  those  rivers  and 
to  the  Deerfield,  the  Connecticut  and  the  Westfield  rivers,  and  is 
beautified  in  its  numerous  valleys  by  a  multitude  of  little  lakes  ;  some 
of  which  are  gems  of  beauty.  From  its  valleys,  one  gets  many  bold 
and  beautiful  presentments  of 

THE  SURROUNDING  HILLS  AND   SCENERY. 

In  Spring  and  Summer,  the  wealth  of  vegetation  in  the  valleys  and 
the  luxuriance  and  numerous  colors  of  the  forests  on  the  hills,  fill  the 
eye  with  beauty  and  gladden  the  whole  nature  of  the  cultivated  trav- 
eler with  delight ;  while  in  the  Fall,  these  same  hills  and  forests  pre- 
sent, in  their  ripened  foliage,  a  brilliancy  and  glory,  and  variety  of 
color,  which  cannot  be  surpassed,  and  can  hardly  be  equalled  in  the 
entire  world.  This  grand  display  of  Autumnal  foliage  is  to  be  attrib- 
uted, of  course,  to  the  great  variety  here  gathered,  of  the  gems  and 
species  of  our  American  trees  and  shrubs, — as  to  which  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Dewey  cites  the  Frenchman  Mirbel,  as  saying  that  the  species 
of  the  oak  alone,  in  America,  were  more  numerous  than  all  the  species 
of  trees  in  Europe.  Standing  upon  "  Greylock,"  or  upon  "  Mount  Wash- 
ington," and  stretching  the  vision  north  from  Washington,  or  south 
from  "  Greylock,"  the  eye  of  a  lover  of  natural  beauty  is  filled  with  won- 
der and  delight;  and  those  who  have  traveled  somewhat  widely  will 
enjoy  it  most,  as  it  cannot  fail  to  recall  to  them  Scotland  and  Wales  ; 
the  lake  country,  and  Derbyshire,  and  Devon,  in  old  England,  and  the 
most  beautiful — of  course  not  the  most  grand — scenery  in  Switzerland. 
As  you  stand  upon  either  of  these  high  points,  your  eye,  after  resting 
awhile  upon  the  opposite  peak  at  the  other  extreme  of  the  county, 
wanders  from  one  to  another  of  the  lower  hills  and  the  pleasant  val- 
leys ;  from  beautiful  lake  to  swiftly-running  or  quietly-winding 
stream,  and  the  whole  seems  like  a  vast  and  charming  park,  with  its 
cultivated  fields  and  gardens,  its  hills  and  groves,  and  its  hundreds  of 
miles  of  driveways,  stretching  along  by  the  rivers,  or  winding  among 
the  hills,  or  skirting  the  borders  of  the  quiet  and  lovely  lakes. 


52  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

lee's  fortunate  location. 
In  the  center  of  this  vision  of  beauty,  six  miles  long  by  about  five 
miles  broad,  flanked  on  the  east  by  the  high  hills  of  Washington,  and 
shut  in  on  the  south  by  the  grand  pile  of  hills  called  "  Beartown,"  lies 
our  goodly  town  of  Lee.  Nestling  among  the  foot  hills  of  these 
mountain  ranges ;  midway  between  old  "  Greylock  "  on  the  north,  and 
"Mount  Washington  "  on  the  south,  and  divided  by  the  swiftly-flowing 
Housatonic,  (a  river  beautiful  in  name  and  in  all  its  bed  and  border, 
from  its  source  in  lake  and  mountain  spring,  down  among  its  wooded 
hills  and  pleasant  valleys,  to  its  outlet  in  the  iSound,)  Lee  has  enough 
of  beauty  to  satisfy  the  desires  of  its  children,  while  they  remain  at 
home,  and  to  be  a  pleasant  memory  when  they  are  away.  It  furnishes 
few,  if  any,  splendid  or  exceptional  illustrations  of  grandeur  or  of  beauty, 
or  of  highest  cultivation,  but  from  its  center  to  its  utmost  circumfer- 
ence, it  exhibits  intimations  and  possibilities  of  beauty  and  of  culture, 
which  its  busy  citizens  have,  till  recently,  found  little  leisure,  taste, 
or  wealth,  to  cultivate  or  develop.  One  hundred  years  ago,  it  was  a 
wilderness,  almost  unbroken  by  the  hand  of  civilized  man.  To-day, 
its  pleasant  homes,  its  cultivated  farms,  its  factories  and  shops,  its 
stores  and  counting-houses,  give  food,  shelter  and  employment,  to  a 
prosperous  and  intelligent  community  of  about  4,000  people.  Its 
churches  and  schools,  its  farms,  its  mechanical,  manufacturing  and 
mercantile  establishments  compare  fairly  with  those  of  any  other 
place  of  similar  population  and  pursuits  in  the  broad  world.  Its  quiet, 
steady  growth  from  that  to  this,  it  is  our  privilege  and  pleasure  to 
contemplate  in  this  hour. 

THE  HISTORY   OF  A  CENTURY. 

Standing  thus  between  the  living  and  the  dead,  upon  this  Centen- 
nial uplift,  we  would  review  the  past,  glance  rapidly  at  the  present, 
and.  perhaps,  endeavor  to  forecast  a  little  that  future,  which  as  to  any 
certainties,  is  all  unknown  to  us.  We  must  proceed,  with  rapid  sketch 
and  vision,  taking  in  only  a  few  of  those  historic  facts  which  have 
special  local  or  family  interest,  and  which  are  carefully  and  well  gath- 
ered for  future  reference  and  use,  in  the  brief  sketch  contributed  by 
the  late  Dr.  Alvan  Hyde  to  the  "  History  of  Berkshire,"  in  the  fuller 
"  History  of  Lee,"  contained  in  the  lecture  of  Rev.  Armory  Gale;  in 
the  address  of  the  late  Dr.  Nahum  Gale  at  the  laying  of  the  Corner 
Stone  of  3'our  Congregational  Church  ;  in  the  address  delivered  at  the 
Scmi-Centennial  of  the  Congregational  Sunday-school;  and  finally, 
and  much  more  fully,  by  the  son  and  the  grandson,  of  the  best  of  good 
men  and  true,  who  have  ministered  to  the  wants  and  the  growth  of 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  53 

the  moral  and  spiritual  elements  of  the  people  of  Lee,  in  the  historical 
notes  which  will  be  published  in  some  convenient  form  in  connection 
with  the  doings  of  this  Centennial  Day.  The  harvests  there  garnered 
will  afford  valuable  and  interesting  materials  from  which  you  and 
your  children  may,  and  will,  pleasantly  gather  and  glean,  in  your  quiet 
hours  for  the  century  which  is  before  you,  but  could  not  be  collected 
and  compressed  so  as  to  be  presented  in  the  brief  space  which  should 
be  taken  by  this  Address. 

THE    TOWN'S    INCORPORATION. 

Lee  is  one  of  the  modern  towns  of  this  quite  modern  Common- 
wealth, and  its  memories  are  all  fresh,  vivid  and  easily  called  up. 
One  hundred  years  and  more  had  elapsed  after  the  landing  of  the 
pilgrims,  (December  21,  1620)  before  Western  Massachusetts  began 
to  be  settled,  and  the  deed  by  which — in  consideration  of  £460,  three 
barrels  of  cider,  and  thirty  quarts  of  rum,  the  southern  half  of  Berk- 
shire County  was  conveyed  by  the  Indians,  was  dated  April  25th,  1724. 
From  this  territory,  known  at  first  as  the  "  upper  and  lower  Housa- 
tonic  townships,"  Sheffield,  and  afterward  Great  Barrington  and  other 
towns,  were  set  off  and  incorporated.  Stoekbridge  was  chartered  in 
1739,  as  an  Indian  town,  six  miles  square ;  and  Richmond  and  Lenox 
followed  a  few  years  later.  The  whole  territory  surrounding  Lee  had 
been  settled  and  occupied  before  Isaac  Davis  built  his  farm-house 
near  John  McAllister's,  and  it  was  not  till  October  21,  1777,  that  Lee 
became  an  incorporated  town.  Five  different  special  grants, 
"  Hoplands,"  "  Watson's,"  "  Williams,"  "  Larrabees,"  and  "  Glass 
Works,"  were  in  whole  or  in  part  included  in  the  township.  These 
grants  are  quite  fully  referred  to  by  Dr.  Charles  M.  Hyde  in  the 
"  Historical  Notes." 

THE    HOPLANDS    AND    WATSON'S    GRANTS. 

"  Hoplands,"  somewhat  inconveniently  known  from  its  separate 
school  fund,  is  a  strip  of  land  extending  nearly  across  the  southern 
portion  of  the  town,  and  including  six  school  districts — the  two  at 
South  Lee,  the  one  near  the  Charles  Hinckley  homestead,  the  two  in 
Water  street,  and  the  one  at  East  Lee.  This  tract  belonged  to  Great 
Barrington  prior  to  1777,  but  was  included  in  this  town  at  the  time 
of  its  incorporation. 

Watson's  Grant  comprised  a  large  tract  originally  purchased  by 
Robert  Watson  of  Sheffield  (assisted  by  a  tory  lawyer  named  David 
Ingersoll)  of  the  Indians  in  1757,  which  constitutes  to-day  the  town 
of  Washington,    and  parts   of   the    towns   of    Middlefield,    Hinsdale, 


54  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Lenox  and  Lee.  This  land,  before  it  became  incorporated  into  the 
several  townships  with  which  it  is  now  connected,  passed  through  a 
number  of  hands,  and  was  known  by  the  successive  names  of  Watson- 
town,  Greenock,  Hartwood  and  Monnt  Ephraim. 

HOW     COL.     WILLIAMS  "  GATHERED    IN  "     4,000    ACRES. 

There  seems  to  have  been  in  the  "Williams"  Grant  (or  Minister's 
Grant,  as  it  is  frequently  and  quite  significantly  called,)  some  features 
which,  as  showing  some  characteristics  of  the  times,  and  of  the 
leading  and  probably  the  best  men  of  that  day, — and  perhaps  as 
confirming  the  opinion  that  "there  is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun" — 
may  well  receive  our  passing  notice.  This  grant  formed  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  town,  and  contained  about  4,000  acres.  It  seems 
to  have  been  made  by  the  General  Court,  January  21,  1740,  to  Col. 
Ephraim  Williams  and  six  associates.  In  the  sketch  of  Lee,  con- 
tributed by  Dr.  Alvan  Hyde  to  the  History  of  Berkshire,  published  in 
1829,  this  grant  is  merely  noticed  as  "  Williams'  Grant."  In  the 
History  of  Lee,  by  Eev.  Amory  Gale,  (compiled  and  delivered  as  a 
lecture  to  the  Young  Men's  Association  of  Lee,  March  22,  1854,)  it  is 
mentioned  as  embracing  about  650  acres  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  town,  and  in  explanation  of  its  origin,  Mr.  Gale  says :  "  Col. 
Ephraim  Williams,  the  founder  of  Williams  College,  was  an  efficient 
soldier  in  the  second  French  war,  who  fell  in  his  country's  service,  as 
commander  of  a  regiment,  on  the  8th  of  September,  1755,  near  the 
shores  of  Lake  George,  when  only  about  41  years  of  age.  As  a 
testimony  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  the  authorities 
granted  him,  before  his  death,  this  tract  of  land,  for  many  years 
known  as  the  "  Williams'  Grant."  There  are  probably  two  errors  in 
this  explanation,  which  are  easily  accounted  for  by  those  who  know 
how  such  histories  are  usually  compiled  by  those  who  have  little 
leisure,  small  means  to  expend  in  research,  and  little  or  no  compensa- 
tion for  services.  The  quantity  of  land,  instead  of  650  acres,  was 
about  4,000 ;  and  the  grant,  having  been  made  to  Williams  at  the 
earl}'  age  of  20  years,  was  before,  and  not  in  consideration  of,  the 
special  services  which  afterwards  called  attention  to  him.  He  had 
followed,  in  his  early  years,  a  sea-faring  life  ;  had  visited  England, 
Spain  and  Holland,  where  he  is  said  to  have  "acquired  graceful 
manners,  and  a  considerable  stock  of  useful  knowledge."  The  first 
war  in  which  he  distinguished  himself,  was  that  between  France  and 
England,  from  1744  to  17  IS.  several  years  after  this  grant  had  been 
made.  He  is  spoken  of  in  the  History  of  Berkshire  (page  166)  as 
"graceful  and  easy  in  address,  and   pleasing  and  conciliating  in   his 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBHATION.  55 

manners,"  and  it  is  added,  "  He  was  employed  in  advancing  the 
settlements  in  some  of  the  towns  in  the  county,  and  had  an  uncom- 
mon share  of  influence  at  the  General  Court."  Having  these  facilities 
for  obtaining  a  grant,  he  seems  to  have  presented,  on  May  3,  1739,  a 
memorial  to  the  General  Court,  in  which  it  is  represented  that  he  and 
his  associates  had  a  piece  of  meadow  which  the  Stoekbridge  Indians 
would  like  to  own,  and  which  the  memorialists  proposed  to  have 
given  to  them,  the  General  Court  granting  Williams  and  his  asso- 
ciates an  equivalent  in  the  unappropriated  lands  of  the  province. 
This  memorial  was  signed  by  two  of  the  Indians,  and  there  is 
attached  to  the  registry,  a  memorandum  that  Williams  and  partners 
gave  £450  for  the  land.  In  response  to  this  memorial,  a  grant  of 
these  4,000  acres  was  made  to  Williams  and  his  associates  as  an 
equivalent  for  this  "  meadow  which  the  Indians  would  like,"  and  for 
which  it  is  said  Williams  and  his  associates,  to  extinguish  an 
adverse  claim  of  another  Indian  family,  paid  £15.  Col.  Williams 
had  connected  with  himself  as  "associates,"  Timothy  Woodbridge,  of 
Stoekbridge,  the  school-master,  Rev.  Stephen  Williams  and  Samuel 
Hopkins,  of  Springfield,  Rev.  Peter  Raynolds,  of  Enfield,  Rev. 
Jonathan  Edwards,  of  Northampton,  and  Rev.  Nehemiah  Bull,  of 
Westfield,  deceased,  represented  by  Mr.  Oliver  Partridge,  of  Hatfield. 
Oliver  Partridge  seems  to  have  surveyed  this  parcel  February  18, 
1739,  and  it  is  described  in  his  report  as  "  adjoining  westerly  and 
southerly  the  Indian  township  on  Housatonic  river."  The  surviving 
widow  of  this  Rev.  Mr.  Bull  had  been,  before  her  marriage,  Miss 
Elizabeth  Partridge,  of  Hartford. 

In  the  Springfield  Registry  of  Deeds  (vol.  "M,"  p.  525)  is  a 
record  of  articles  of  agreement' and  division,  dated  January  20,  1742, 
between  these  "  associates,"  with  which  is  connected  a  plan  of  the 
land  ;  from  all  of  kwhich  it  appears  that  Col.  Williams  had  in  the 
division  900  acres,  lying  around  Laurel  Lake.  The  ministers, 
following  along  northward,  had  each  a  lot  of  400  acres,  while  flanking 
the  last  three,  ministers'  lots,  Mr.  Partridge,  or  Rev.  Mr.  Bull's  estate 
had  a  lot  of  700  acres.  Woodbridge  sold  his  in  1746,  to  Isaac 
Williams,  of  Goshen,  Ct.,  for  £280,  and  it  was  called  510  acres.  In 
the  Pittsfield  and  Springfield  Registers  and  in  papers  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts Archives,  this  grant  is  called  the  Ministers'  Grant,  and  there 
seems  to  be  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  prevailing  consideration, 
for  the  grant  may  have  been  the  number  and  eminent  respectability 
of  the  grantees.  Dr.  Edwards  seems  to  have  exchanged  240  acres  of 
the  Ministers  Grant  for  the  same  quantity  of  land  in  Stoekbridge  in 
1750,    and    in    August,    1769,    Timothy    Edwards    sold    his   father's 


56  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

remaining  right  therein  to  Joseph  Woodbridge,  for  £328.  Most  of 
this  land  was  added  to  Lenox,  hut  that  which  was  assigned  to  Capt. 
Williams  in  the  division,  was  included  in  the  township  of  Lee.  Dr. 
C.  M.  Hyde,  after  a  careful  and  thorough  examination  of  records  and 
papers,  in  which  were  preserved  and  embalmed  this  grant  and  its  acces- 
sions and  surroundings,  intimates  that  the  transaction  was  a  " pecu- 
liar one,  and  reveals  the  shrewdness  of  the  benevolent  persons  who 
took  such  good  care  of  the  affairs  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians;"  and  we 
may  add  that,  unexplained  and  read  by  the  light  of  the  comments  of 
partisan  journals,  it  would  have  seriously  shadowed  the  prospects  of  a 
batch  of  presidential  candidates,  in  the  year  of  grace,  1876.* 

THE  TWO   OTHER   GRANTS. 

Larabee's  grant  was  to  John  Larabee,  tbe  officer  then  in  command 
of  the  single  fort,  "  Castle  Williams,"  which  was  thought  to  afford  suffi- 
cient protection  to  the  Harbor  of  Boston.  Upon  his  memorial,  which 
sets  forth  seventeen  years  of  special  services,  a  large  and  dependent 
family,  a  small  and  inadequate  compensation,  the  Legislature,  in  June, 
1739,  voted  to  grant  him  £175,  and  500  acres  of  the  unappropriated 
land  of  the  Province.  This  grant,  located  east  of  the  Williams  Grant, 
and  duly  reported  to  the  Legislature,  was  confirmed  to  Lieut.  Larabee 
and  his  heirs  and  assigns.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  faithful  officer, 
for  in  1762,  (the  year  following  his  death,)  a  grant  of  £50  was  made  to 
his  heirs,  by  the  General  Court,  in  testimony  of  his  faithful  services. 

The  "Glass  Works"  Grant  covered  tbe  center  of  the  town — the 
present  village — and  was  made  in  1754,  by  the  General  Court,  to 
John  Franklin  and  his  associates.  It  was  designated  "A  Grant  of 
Money  to  Encourage  the  Making  of  Potash ;  "  and  consisted  of  1,000 
acres  of  land.  Certain  parties  seem  to  have  been  engaged  at  Brain- 
tree,  now  Quincy,  in  the  attempt  to  manufacture  "  potash,  cider,  glass 
and  cloth,"  in  which  they  were  pecuniarily  unfortunate,  and  after  va- 
rious attempts  to  acquire,  first  monopolies,  and  then  indemnities,  they 
seem  to  have  obtained  in  1757,  in  addition  to  the  former  Glass  Works 
grant,  assistance  "by  way  of  lottery,"  which  the  General  Court  au- 
thorized them  to  enjoy,  and  voted  them  the  use  of  the  Hall  of  Repre- 
sentatives, as  a  convenient  place  in  which  to  "  draw  "  it. 

NATURAL  PRODUCTS. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  the  town,  the  bear,  the  wolf,  the  moose, 
and  the  deer,  were  occasionally  seen,  and  in  going  through  the  woods 


*In  the  above  account  of  the  Williams'  Grant,  the  very  natural  mistake  is  made 
of  confounding  Col.  Ephraim  Williams,  the  founder  of  Williams  College,  with  his 
father,  Col.  Ephraim  Williams  of  Stockbridge,  the  patentee  of  this  grant  — Editor. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  57 

at  night  it  was  customary  to  carry  torches  to  scare  away  the  wolves. 
The  birds,  natural  and  spontaneous  vegetation  and  mineral,  were  much 
the  same  as  now.  Marble,  of  firmness  and  strength,  which  will  sus- 
tain a  pressure  of  20,000  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  while  Italian  mar- 
ble crushes  at  13,000,  and  most  of  our  American  marble  at  12,000 
pounds,  is  the  most  valuable  mineral  yet  found  in  Lee.  It  is,  in  sev- 
eral important  respects,  the  best  building  material  in  the  world;  but  it 
was,  for  many  years,  quite  unknown  to  the  early  settlers,  though  crop- 
ping out  in  so  many  prominent  and  extensive  ledges,  and  when  John 
Winegar  built  his  second  dwelling  house,  the  oldest  now  in  town,  and 
near  Royce  &  McLaughlin's  mills,  the  nearest  place  where  he  could 
find  stone  for  his  cellar,  was  on  Pixley  mountain.  This  must  have 
been  about  fifteen  years  after  Davis  built  the  first  frame  house,  and 
there  were  then  living  here  a  considerable  number  of  families. 

THE  ANCIENT  WORTHIES   OF  THE  TOWN. 

Of  those  first  settlers ;  of  Isaac  Davis  and  his  house,  upon  what  is 
now  the  John  McAllister  farm  ;  of  Reuben  Pixley,  who  gave  his  name 
to  Pixley  mountain,  and  who  also  built  on  the  Hoplands,  near  where 
Harrison  Garfield's  farm-house  now  stands ;  of  John  Coffy,  the  Irish- 
man, and  of  Hope  Davis  from  Tyringham;  of  Aaron  Benedict  and 
George  Parker ;  of  William  Charter,  the  Quaker ;  of  Lemuel  Crocker 
and  of  Asahel  Dodge ;  of  Samuel  Stanley,  the  tanner ;  of  John  Col- 
traine  of  Tolland  ;  of  John  Winegar  and  Jonathan  Foote ;  of  Richard 
Howk,  whose  large  Dutch  barn  gave  to  his  homestead  the  name  of 
"  Howk's  Barracks  ;  "  of  Josiah  Yale  of  Wallingford,  who  bought  a 
portion  of  the  Williams  or  Minister's  Grant,  where  the  old  Yale  house 
now  stands,  and  who  was  among  the  first  and  foremost  men  of  Lee  in 
public  spirit  and  enterprise,  giving  his  crowbar  in  those  early  days 
when  good  tough  iron  was  not  plenty,  for  a  crank  to  the  meeting-house 
bell,  because  "  he  knew  that  was  good  iron,"  and  purchasing  at  full 
price  three  pews  in  the  meeting-house,  because  buyers  were  few  and 
money  scarce ;  of  Jesse  Bradley  of  New  Haven  ;  of  Ball,  Bassett, 
Backus,  Barlow,  Gifford,  Hamblin,  Jenkins,  and  of  the  families  driven 
from  Cape  Cod,  by  the  distress  brought  to  that  locality  by  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  and  its  closing  days  of  large  debts  and  taxes  and  paper 
currency ;  and  of  their  early  struggles  with  obstacles  of  every  kind, 
till  by  untiring  perseverance,  economy,  and  industry,  they  changed 
the  wild  wilderness  into  productive  farms,  and  replaced  the  small  log- 
houses  upon  the  mountain-side,  by  comfortable  homes,  and  made  pass- 
able roads,  hard  and  worked,  instead  of  simply  following  among  bushes 
and  tangled  under-growth,  the  marked  trees  of  the  first  settlers ;  of 


58  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

the  bridges  over  which  carts  and  wagons  could  be  safely  driven,  instead 
of  the  felled  trees  which,  for  a  time,  served  for  crossing  when  the 
streams  were  too  deep  to  be  safely  waded;  of  the  weary  journeys 
from  "  the  Cape  "  by  ox-cart  or  on  horseback — husband  and  wife,  or 
mother  and  son  upon  a  single  horse, — you  will  find  full,  and  interest- 
ing variations  in  the  compilations  and  historical  notes  to  which  I  have 
referred. 

THE    FIRST    TAVERN    AND    MEETING-HOUSE. 

"  Cape  street,"  with  its  narrow  valley  and  its  convenient  hill-sides 
for  the  homes  of  the  early  settlers,  was  at  first  the  most  populous  part 
of  the  town,  and  there  it  was  proposed  to  build  the  meeting-house,  but 
Cornelius  Bassett  and  Nathan  Dillingham  in  1778,  built  the  "Red 
Lion  "  tavern  on  what  is  now  the  Pease  lot,  which  was  occupied  as  a  ho- 
tel till  1833,  and  remained  as  a  landmark  and  memento  of  earlier  days 
for  some  years  after  the  more  modern  hostelry,  built  where  the  Memo- 
rial Hall  now  stands,  took  its  place  as  the  hotel.  It  was  the  first  two. 
story  house  built  in  Lee,  and  it  is  said  that  the  first  store,  to  which  Job 
Hamblin  brought  from  Boston  by  a  forty  days'  journey,  a  load  of  salt, 
was  kept  in  its  buttery.  This  imposing  and  important  establishment 
had,  of  course,  a  centralizing  tendency,  and  aided  in  drawing  popula- 
tion and  the   "  meeting-house"  to  the  present  center. 

THE    EARLY    TOWN    MEETINGS. 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  Peter  Wilcox's  homestead  (a 
log  house  of  one  story  and  with  only  one  room),  Dec.  22,  1777.  It  is 
supposed  the  population  was  then  about  two  hundred.  In  1780  the 
meeting  was  adjourned  "for  eight  minutes,  to  meet  in  Peter  Wilcox's 
barn,"  indicating  probably  an  increase  of  population  which  made  the 
one  room  of  a  log  house  inconveniently  small.  The  next  place  of 
meeting  was  Major  Dillingham's  tavern,  and  after  that,  the  meeting- 
house for  many  years.  Notices  of  town  meetings  were  posted  on  the 
whipping  post,  near  the  meeting-house,  and  at  the  two  grist  mills. 

lee's  part  in  the  revolution. 

Although  the  town  was  not  incorporated  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  though  after  its  incorporation  the  records 
were  quite  imperfectly  kept,  it  is  certain  that  the  men  of  Lee  did 
their  full  share  in  supporting  the  Government  in  that  birth-struggle 
of  our  national  life  ;  and  of  their  names  and  services  in  the  raising  of 
men,  of  money,  of  provisions  and  horses,  and  other  needed  supplies, 
you  will  find  honorable  mention  in  the  historical  notes.  In  1841 
there  were  Revolutionary  pensioners  living  in  Lee  whose  names  and 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  59 

ages  were  :  Joseph  Wilder,  82  ;  Beuben  Marsh,  78  ;  Nathaniel  Bas- 
sett,  84;  Joel  Hayden,  78;  Cornelius  Bassett,  79;  and  Levi  Bobin- 
son,  78.  All  have  long  since  passed  away,  hut  their  patriotic  example 
and  blessed  memory  will  live  as  long  as  each  returning  Fourth  of 
July  reminds  us  of  those  who  fought  and  suffered,  that  we  might  have 
freedom  and  peace. 

GROG   AT    SIXTY   DOLLARS    A    BOWL. 

Of  some  of  the  distressing  circumstances  and  conditions  which 
pressed  upon  our  fathers  in  those  days,  we  can  form  no  true  idea 
from  any  of  the  experiences  of  this  generation.  In  the  war  of  seces- 
sion we  knew  something  of  depreciated  currency,  and  we  are  to-day 
suffering  from  its  effects  and  influence.  But  our  currency  was  not 
sufficiently  depleted  to  give  us  any  true  conception  of  the  baseness  of 
that  Continental  currency,  the  worthlessness  of  which  gave  rise  to  the 
expression,  "  Not  worth  a  continental."  We  have  good  illustrations 
of  it,  however,  in  two  incidents  connected  with  citizens  of  Lee. 
One  is  related  of  Cornelius  Bassett,  whose  prize  money  as  a  privateer 
was  £100,  which  he  invested  in  this  depreciated  currency ;  he  after- 
wards exchanged  his  currency  for  a  watch  and  finally  gave  his  watch  for 
the  land  where  the  "  Bed  Lion  "  was  afterwards  built ;  and  the  other 
of  Capt.  Amos  Porter,  who  was  active  in  both  the  French  and  Bev- 
olutionary  wars,  and  expended  a  large  share  of  his  property  in  the 
support  of  his  company,  and,  when  peace  was  declared,  led  his  com- 
pany of  sixty-four  men  up  to  Toucey's  and  treated  each  of  them  to  a 
bowl  of  grog  at  $60  a  bowl,  making  a  total  of  $3,840. 

lee's  part  in  shays'  rebellion. 

In  the  long-protracted  struggle,  the  people  had  neglected  their  pri- 
vate affairs  ;  their  farms  aud  buildings  had  gone  to  barrenness  and 
decay  ;  business  was  ruined,  and  debts  (contracted  for  the  support  of 
their  families),  were  increasing  in  amount  by  the  accumulation  of  in- 
terest, which  the  debtors  found  it  impossible  to  pay.  The  private 
consolidated  debt  of  Massachusetts  was  nearly  four  and  a  half  million 
dollars,  besides  nearly  one  million  due  to  officers  of  their  line  of  the 
army ;  while  the  State's  proportion  of  the  Federal  debt  was  about  five 
millions;  making  more  than  ten  millions  of  dollars  of  public  debt 
pressing  upon  a  people  impoverished  to  bankruptcy  in  their  own  pri- 
vate affairs.  How  all  this  was  to  be  paid,  might  well  cause  solicitude 
in  the  firmest  minds.  The  paper  currency,  already  depreciated,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  still  diminishing  in  value,  and  very  little  specie  was  in 
the  country.     The  markets  for  produce  were  closed  or  greatly  lessened, 


60  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

and  all  means  for  resuming  foreign  trade  were  to  a  great  degree  want- 
ing. Meantime,  taxes  were  levied,  and  the  courts,  which  in  many 
places  had  heen  long  suspended,  met  again  and  rendered  judgments 
and  issued  executions,  and  creditors  prepared  to  enforce  collection  of 
debts,  by  sale  of  property,  at  sacrifices  quite  ruinous  to  the  debtor 
classes,  who  constituted  nearly  the  whole  people. 

In  these  distressing  circumstances  were  concealed  the  real  causes 
of  the  unfortunate  and  ill-starred  insurection,  to  which  its  leader, 
Daniel  Shays,  gave  name.  It  had,  as  we  have  seen,  as  its  basis  some 
serious  troubles,  and  perhaps  some  real  grievances,  but  like  most  other 
popular  uprisings,  and  especially  like  the  extensive  and  disastrous 
strike  of  railroad  and  some  other  laborers,  so  fresh  in  our  memories,  it 
was  so  conducted,  as  to  do  immense  harm  and  no  good,  and  became 
the  most  unhappy  and  disgraceful  affair  which  ever  troubled  Massa- 
chusetts, and  at  one  time  it  threatened  the  whole  State  with  anarchy. 
The  part  taken  by  some  of  the  citizens  of  Lee  in  the  matter  seems  to 
have  been  not  much  to  the  advantage  of  their  reputation  for  discre- 
tion or  courage  ;  but  to-day  we  can  well  afford  to  forget  the  more 
serious  and  unpleasant  memories  originating  in  that  transaction, 
and  to  speak  only  of  such  ludicrous  incidents  as  the  wild  retreat  of 
Gen.  Patterson's  Government  veterans  before  Mother  Perry's  "  yarn 
beam  "  mounted  upon  wheels,  as  the  ignited  tarred  rope  was  swung 
in  the  air,  and  the  voice  of  Peter  Wilcox  gave  the  order  to  fire  ;  or  the 
arrest  of  Jenkins  and  Taylor  by  Lovice  Foot  and  Sarah  Ellis,  as  clad 
in  gentlemen's  coats  aud  hats,  with  unloaded  guns,  these  bold  and  res- 
olute girls  compelled  the  timid  fellows  to  dismount  and  enter  the 
house,  thus  revealing  themselves  to  their  captors  ;  while  we  place 
quite  in  the  background  the  subsequent  arrest  of  Peter  Wilcox  and 
the  imprisonment  from  which  he  escaped  to  give  name  to  "  Peter's 
Cave  "  at  the  foot  of  our  beautiful  "  Fern  Cliff,"  as  his  hiding  place,  and 
the  death  of  his  son,  Ozias  Wilcox,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
shot  at  Sheffield  in  an  encounter  between  the  mob  with  which  he  was 
acting  and  the  government  troops,  and  of  the  men  of  other  towns, 
killed  and  wounded  in  the  same  encounter,  and  the  general  sundering 
of  ties  of  brotherhood  and  of  neighborhoods,  of  towns  and  of  churches, 
which  was  caused  by  this  unhappy  and  disgraceful  affair. 

CONTEMPORARY    HISTORY    OF    THE    NATION. 

Let  us  pass  on  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  look  in  passing  for  a  brief 
moment  at  the  national  growth.  The  Articles  of  Confederation  were 
approved  July  9,  1778,  in  the  third  year  of  our  independence.  They 
were  entitled  "  Articles  of  Confederation  and  Ferpetual   Union,"  and 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  61 

were  approved  and  ratified  by  delegates  who  were  thereto  empowered 
by  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States.  It  was  not  till  about  twelve 
years  after  the  Declaration  of  our  Independence  that  the  sovereignty 
of  the  states  was  merged  in  the  higher  and  grander  sovereignty  of  the 
nation  created  by  the  constitution.  Although  the  second  clause  of 
the  concluding  article  of  the  confederation  closed  with  the  high- 
sounding  declaration,  "  the  articles  shall  be  invioably  observed  by  the 
states,  and  the  Union  shall  be  perpetual,"  their  looseness  and  insuf- 
ficiency was  soon  felt,  and  they  came  to  be  spoken  of  as  a  "  rope  of 
sand."  It  is  difficult  to  realize  how  provisional  everything  then  was. 
The  Continental  Congress,  deputed  by  the  states  to  assume  the  gen- 
eral control,  "raised  armies,  appointed  generals,  levied  taxes  and 
negotiated  foreign  loans  and  treaties."  "It  had  no  legally  established 
constituency,  but  one,  in  fact,  existed,  which  they  did  not  fail  to  rec- 
ognize, and  for  which  they  boldly  assumed  to  act."  They  settled  and 
adjusted  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  different  States  to  the  title  of 
the  land  in  the  almost  unexplored  territory  of  the  North-west,  and 
adopted  for  its  government  the  compact  between  the  original  states 
and  '  the  people  "  that  were  to  be  (of  the  new  Territory),  generally 
known  as  the  ordinance  of  1787.  This  compact  was  a  very  important 
bit  of  legislation,  consisting  of  six  articles.  The  first  provides  for 
entire  religious  freedom;  the  second  for  trial  by  jury,  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  and  other  important  rights ;  the  third  for  the  encour- 
agement of  schools  and  good  faith  towards  the  Indians ;  the  fourth 
places  new  States  which  may  be  created  out  of  the  territory,  on  the 
same  footing  as  the  old  thirteen;  the  fifth  authorizes  division  of  the 
territory  into  states,  to  be  not  more  than  five  nor  less  than  three,  each 
to  be  admitted  when  it  should  contain  sixty  thousand  inhaitants,  and 
the  sixth  contains  the  famous  "  anti-slavery  proviso  ;  "  that  there  shall 
be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  in  any  of  the  said  States, 
other  than  in  the  punishment  of  crime,  of  which  the  party  shall  have 
been  duly  convicted. 

Our  birth,  and  struggle  for  complete  national  existence,  cover  a 
period  of  thirteen  years,  and  are  marked  by  four  great  State  papers,  of 
which  any  nation  might  be  justly  proud,  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, the  Articles  of  Confederation,  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  and  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  They  are  not  all  equally  admi- 
rable. The  first  and  the  last  greatly  transcend  the  others,  and  not- 
withstanding the  modern  disposition  in  some  quarters  to  decry  and 
belittle  them,  each  of  these  two  is  in  its  turn  a  document  of  rare  and 
unequaled  excellence,  and  they  severally  mark  in  this  great  struggle 
the  beginning,  with  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  July  4,  1776, 


62  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

and  the  ending,  with  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  and  the  inau- 
guration of  Washington  as  first  President,  April  30,  1789.  We  cele- 
brated the  Centennial  of  our  national  life  July  4,  1876  ;  but  not  till 
April  30,  1889,  shall  we  have  completed  a  century  of  national  consti- 
tutional government. 

THE    SECOND    WAR   WITH    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Almost  immediately  after  the  close  of  our  Revolutionary  war,  the 
infant  republic  began  to  feel  the  heavy  hand  of  the  Algerine  pirate, 
and  before  the  expiration  of  the  thirteen  years  of  our  birth-struggle 
the  oppressive  acts  of  Great  Britain  entirely  overshadowed  in  the 
enormity  of  their  offence  and  outrage  those  acts  of  1774-5  which  had 
called  forth  the  declaration  of  the  first  war  for  independence,  and  by 
force  of  these  events  two  wars  were  thrust  upon  the  young  nation,  to 
secure  to  her  real  use  those  blessings  to  which  she  had  so  boldly  as- 
serted her  "inalienable  right."  The  contest  with  the  Algerines  was 
rendered  glorious  by  the  bravery  of  the  gallant  Decatur,  and  the 
United  States  has  properly  the  credit  of  having  initiated  the  deliver- 
ance of  the  Mediterranean  from  the  tyranny  of  those  pirates.  Our 
last  war  with  Great  Britain  was  as  truly  a  war  of  independence  as 
was  the  first.  That  proud  and  arrogant  "Mistress  of  the  Seas  "  had, 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  and  recruiting  her  navy,  allowed  her 
press-gangs  in  the  streets  of  London,  and  in  the  other  English  cities, 
to  seize  American  citizens,  and  carry  them  on  board  her  vessels  and 
compel  them  to  serve  as  common  sailors  ;  and  this  had  been  continued, 
in  spite  of  our  remonstrances,  till  the  number  of  Americans  so  cap- 
tured and  enlisted  in  British  service  was  officially  reported  to  be 
between  four  and  five  thousand.  It  was  not  till  the  pride  of  the  nation 
was  touched  by  the  boarding  and  search  of  the  "Chesapeake,  "  under  the 
orders  of  a  British  admiral  in  a  British  frigate,  that  we  could  be  nerved 
to  a  declaration  of  war ;  but  when  once  commenced  the  war  was  prose- 
cuted with  vigor.  Our  seamen  proved  able  to  cope  successfully  with 
the  veterans  of  the  English  navy,  and  we  established,  as  the  result  of 
some  bold  and  successful  sea-fights,  our  full  independence  of  British 
interference  upon  the  sea,  as  well  as  upon  the  land.  Its  direct  effect 
did  not  extend  far  inland ;  but  some  of  the  families  of  Lee,  who  had 
emigrated  to  Ohio  and  settled  near  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  had 
packed  their  household  goods,  and  made  themselves  ready  for  instant 
removal,  if  the  issue  of  the  famous  battle  of  September  10,  had  not 
resulted  in  the  "Victory  of  Lake  Erie"  for  our  sailors  and  soldiers 
under  Commodore  Perry. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  63 

MASSACHUSETTS  NOT  EAGER  FOR  THE  FRAY. 

In  the  war  of  1812,  the  patriotism  of  the  men  of  Massachusetts  did 
not  reach  fever  heat.  The  enslaving  of  our  fellow-citizens  by  British 
tyranny  did  not  affect  our  pockets  unfavorably,  and  the  destruction  of 
our  infant  commerce  surely  would  ;  and  the  bringing  of  war  ships 
upon  the  growing  sea-port  city  of  Boston  was  undesirable.  Gov. 
Strong  refused  to  allow  the  militia  of  Massachusetts  to  be  marched 
out  of  the  State  for  national  defense  or  protection,  and  the  fourteen 
men  drafted  from  Lee,  who  joined  a  company  of  which  the  late  John 
Nye  was  captain,  did  no  heavier  or  more  dangerous  duty  than  to  pass 
from  dinner  to  drill,  during  six  weeks  of  monotonous  service  in  the 
Boston  barracks  and  upon  the  parade  ground. 

THE     OLD     TRAINING    DAYS. 

The  militia  service,  and  the  days  of  "general  training,"  for  some 
years  after  the  Revolution,  were  matters  of  personal  pride  and  pleas- 
ure, and  a  vigorous  rivalry  was  kept  up  in  Lee,  between  the  North 
company  of  112,  and  the  South  company  of  113  men.  The  parade 
ground  was  the  then  open  field  north  of  the  meeting-house,  the  Barna 
Adams  lot.  The  men  were  refreshed  with  pails  full  of  liquor,  fur- 
nished at  the  expense  of  the  officers,  and  the  offices  being  sought  as  a 
means  of  political  preferment,  such  abuses  soon  crept  in  as  brought 
the  whole  system  into  disrepute.  The  trainings  became  occasions  for 
drunkenness  and  buffoonery,  and  the  whole  business  became  so  dis- 
tasteful that  all  who  could  do  so,  evaded  the  duty.  It  is  believed  that 
the  last  muster  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lee  was  held  at  Stockbridge 
in  1830.  On  that  occasion,  the  North  Lee  company  was  commanded 
by  Capt.  Thomas  E.  M.  Bradley,  with  Seth  D.  Graves  as  lieutenant. 
South  Lee  trained  under  Zach  Winegar,  who,  being  detailed  that  day 
to  act  as  major,  deputed  Lieut.  Henry  Smith  to  act  as  captain,  who 
was  assisted  by  Sergeant  Harrison  Garfield  and  by  Corporal  Barnabas 
Hinckle}-,  while  William  P.  Hamblin  was  lieutenant  of  a  cavalry 
company. 

THE    FIRST    CHURCH    AND    ITS    CONFESSION    OF    FAITH. 

The  First  Church  and  parish  in  Lee  were  co-existent  in  action  and 
in  territory  with  the  town,  and  may  properly  find  mention  here.  It 
was  on  May  25,  1780,  that  the  professors  of  religion  in  Lee,  being 
about  thirty  in  number,  assembled,  and,  with  the  aid  of  Rev.  Daniel 
Collins  of  Lanesboro,  were  organized  into  a  church.  As  the  basis  of 
their  union,    they  adopted  a  Confession   of  Faith  which,  with  the  ex- 


64  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

punging  of  the  single  word  "  unpromised  "  from  the  eleventh  article, 
is  acknowledged  by  their  successors  in  the  same  church  to-day.  It 
included  those  statements  of  belief  which  were  even  then  called  "the 
hard  doctrines,"  and  stated  with  the  usual  fullness  and  amplification, 
that  man  is  born,  according  to  God's  holy  and  wise  constitution,  "in 
a  state  of  sin  and  guilt;"  that  he  is  "wholly  corrupt  and  an  enemy 
to  God  and  the  Gospel ; "  that  he  will  not  be  sinless  until  brought 
to  a  perfect  obedience  to  God's  law,  which  none  attain  to  in  this  life, 
but  are  sinfully  defective  in  all  their  holy  exercises  and  actions ; " 
that  "as  all  the  promises  of  the  Gospel  are  made  to  truly  holy 
exercises,  and  none  but  such  ;  none  can  have  any  evidence  of  their 
interest  in  Christ,  but  by  a  consciousness  of  their  own  holy  exercises, 
and  by  coming  to  a  certain  knowledge  of  these,  as  they  may, 
they  can  obtain  an  assurance  of  their  salvation."  It  also  asserts  in 
the  clearest  manner  the  sovereignty  of  God,  as  "  having  mercy  on 
whom  He  will  have  mercy ;  and  leaving  whom  He  will  to  blindness 
and  hardness." 

This  was  then  the  only  church  in  Lee,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
Dr.  Alvan  Hyde  in  his  Centennial  Discourse  (preached  December  22, 
1820,)  should  have  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  former  disputes  of 
the  people  on  what  were  called  the  "  hard  doctrines,"  and  of  many 
who  had  taken  "  their  stand  in  opposition  to  the  church  and  the  dis- 
tinguishing doctrines  of  grace."  Nor  will  it  seem  surprising  to  most 
persons  at  the  present  day  that  there  should  have  been  difficulty  in 
settling  a  minister.  Referring  again  to  Dr.  Hyde's  Centennial  Dis- 
course, we  find  that  on  the  8th  of  June,  1780,  the  council  called  to  or- 
dain and  install  Mr.  Abram  Fowler,  moved  by  a  remonstrance  in 
which  many  of  the  town  united,  declined  to  ordain  him.  It  was  more 
than  three  years  afterwards,  July  3,  1783,  that  a  council  was  again 
called  for  the  purpose  of  ordaining  Mr.  Elisha  Parmelee,  to  whom  there 
was  similar  opposition  ;  but  as  Mr.  Parmelee  consented  to  be  ordained, 
the  council  proceeded  "  to  set  him  apart  to  the  work  of  the  ministry 
in  this  place."  He  is  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Alvan  Hyde  as  "  sound  in 
the  faith,  amiable  in  disposition,  distinguished  for  his  talents  and 
acquirements,  and  eminent  for  his  piety,"  but  his  health  almost  im- 
mediately failed,  and  he  died  in  1784,  while  journeying  in  Virginia. 

AN    EIGHT    YEARS'    EFFORT    TO    GET    A    MINISTER. 

We  cannot  desire  a  better  photograph  of  the  condition  of  this  small 
but  earnest  community  as  to  their  spiritual  state,  than  again  to  recur 
to  the  language  of  Dr.  Alvan  Hyde,  who  says  that  the  church, 
"though   small,  was   happily  united;    but   the   town    was   in   a   very 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  65 

divided  state."  "Attempts  were  made  for  eight  years  to  settle  a  min- 
ister without  success  ;  in  which  many  candidates  were  employed." 
"  Whenever  the  church  could  unite  in  giving  one  a  call  to  he  their 
teacher  and  spiritual  guide,  a  formidable  opposition  would  arise  in  the 
town  and  disappoint  their  hopes."  Finally,  after  eight  years  and  more 
of  this  ineffectual  struggle,  the  church  and  people  hecame  happily 
united  in  the  settlement  of  Alvan  Hyde,  then  a  young  and  earnest 
minister,  whose  qualifications  and  fitness  for  the  work  no  one  hut  him- 
self ever  questioned.  His  own  sense  of  the  greatness  of  the  responsi- 
bility, and  of  his  personal  weakness,  and  the  earnestness  with  which 
he  sought  help  from  the  highest  source,  are  shown  in  a  letter  to  his 
father,  written  hy  him  the  day  before  his  ordination,  in  which,  after 
stating  the  terms  of  his  settlement,  he  adds : 

"  But  my  thoughts  are  more  employed  about  the  greatness  of  the 
work  in  which  I  am  about  to  engage,  than  the  manner  in  which  I 
shall  be  supported.  The  work  of  the  ministry  appears  greater  and 
greater  to  me.  I  am  sometimes  almost  ready  to  sink  under  it,  and  so 
cry,  'Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?'  but  these  words,  'My 
grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,'  are  sometimes  comforting.  The  burden 
on  my  mind  at  the  present  time  is  very  great.  To-morrow  is  ap- 
pointed for  my  ordination,  and  I  have  solemn  and  affecting  scenes 
before  me.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  take  the  pastoral  office  over  a 
church,  and  to  be  set  as  a  watchman.  I  need  the  prayers  of  all  God's 
people.     I  hope  you,  sir,  will  remember  me  at  the  Throne  of  Grace." 

CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    FIRST    MINISTER. 

Mr.  Hyde  was  a  remarkable  man.  Without  genius  and  without 
uncommon  talents,  he,  nevertheless,  united  and  combined  those  quali- 
ties, acquirements  and  capacities  which  constitute  the  truest  great- 
ness. He  was  earnest  and  pertinacious  in  purposes,  and  was  at  all 
times  pervaded  with  a  sense  of  the  greatness  of  the  work  which  rested 
upon  him,  and  was  overshadowed  in  all  his  life  by  a  consciousness  of 
the  presence  and  power  of  God.  Tor  many  years  he  was  the  central 
figure  of  this  town,  as  well  as  the  shepherd  of  his  particular  flock. 
Everything  which  affected  his  people  affected  him,  and  no  man  was, 
more  than  he,  careful  and  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty. 
All  the  schools  in  the  town  were  under  his  constant  supervision,  and 
he  visited  each  of  the  Summer  and  Winter  schools  near  their  com- 
mencement and  near  the  close,  making  four  annual  visits  to  the 
school  of  each  district  in  the  town  ;  and  it  is  the  witness  of  some 
who  remember  those  visits,  that  lie  always  left  "  a  salutaiy  and  en- 
during influence  behind  him."  It  was  not  till  1814,  that  a  committee 
9 


66  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

was  appointed  to  co-operate  with  him  in  this  work.  His  activity  was 
constant  and  unvarying  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  long 
ministry,  and  the  results  attest  its  high  and  continual  faithfulness. 
The  year  of  his  settlement  (1792)  was  the  year  in  which  commenced 
"that  series  of  revivals  in  America,"  of  which  Dr.  Griffin  said  in 
1828:  "It  has  never  been  interrupted,  night  or  day,  and  never  will 
be  until  the  earth  is  full  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  as  the  waters  cover 
the  sea."  Dr.  Hyde  had  part  in  two  revivals  that  year,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  first  of  those  two  was  the  earliest  of  the  series.  In 
1828,  when  he  had  been  settled  thirty-six  years,  he  had  occasion  to 
take  a  retrospect  of  his  ministry  and  its  results ;  six  hundred  and 
twenty-four  of  his  flock  had  died,  of  whom  forty-six  had  passed  eighty 
years  :  he  had  received  of  members  six  hundred  and  thirty-four,  and 
the  number  of  communicants  at  that  time  was  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty-five. 

Dr.  Hyde  was  an  educated  and  conservative  man,  but  was  not  big- 
oted in  any  narrow  or  bad  sense.  Writing  of  him,  soon  after  his 
death,  his  biographer  says:  "Perhaps  it  is  an  act  of  justice  to  the 
memory  of  a  man  whose  theological  tenets  have  been  much  spoken 
against,  to  say  that  the  Articles  of  Faith  in  the  church  in  Lee  were 
drawn  up  by  Dr.  Hopkins  ;  "  but  if  the  biographer  could  have  fore- 
known that  they  would  have  remained  unchanged  for  more  than  forty 
years,  and  be  to-day  the  statement  of  faith  and  belief  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church  of  Lee,  which  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent churches  in  Berkshire  county,  he  would,  perhaps,  have  deemed 
such  apology  unnecessary. 

Dr.  Hyde  did  not  fear  fair  and  candid  discussion.  He  was  too 
fully  convinced  of  the  absolute  verity  of  the  doctrines  which  he  be- 
lieved and  preached  to  fear  to  talk  of  them  ;  and  in  1794  (two  years 
after  his  settlement),  he  writes  to  a  fellow-clergyman  :  "  Our  differ- 
ence of  opinion  on  some  doctrinal  points,  is  so  far  from  giving  birth  to 
the  least  desire  in  me  to  drop  the  correspondence  that  it  is  a  real  motive 
in  my  mind  for  its  continuance.  From  a  man  of  reading  and  thought, 
who  differs  from  me,  I  shall  be  more  likely  to  receive  benefit  than 
from  one  who  walks  exactly  in  my  path."  It  goes  far  to  nullify  criti- 
cism of  his  doctrines  in  reference  to  points  and  propositions,  before 
which  human  wisdom  becomes  weakness  and  folly,  and  as  to  which  he 
is  perhaps  the  wisest  man  and  truest  disciple  who  has  come  to  a 
dawning  consciousness  <d  his  ignorance  and  incapacity,  to  remember 
that,  in  a  parish  containing  less  than  two  thousand  inhabitants,  his 
church  embraced  during  many  years  near  four  hundred  members,  and 
that  during  a  ministry  of  about  forty  years,  he  admitted  to  his  church 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  67 

about  seven  hundred  communicants,  who,  as  also  their  descendants, 
became  and  remain  a  sober,  temperate,  self-restrained  people,  loving 
and  standing  by  good  order  and  obedience  to  law  ;  conservative  and 
yet  progressing,  having  a  steadfastness  which  may  be  relied  on,  and  a 
will  of  their  own,  and  never  having  parted  with  practical  wisdom  and 
common  sense,  nor  from  the  religion  of  common  honesty  and  payment 
of  debts.  The  secret  of  his  great  usefulness  lay  in  his  devoted  and 
earnest  piety,  in  his  good  sense,  exact  mechod,  punctuality  and  dili- 
gence;  all  of  which  he  constantly  cultivated,  by  the  reading  of  the 
word,  by  prayer,  and  by  labor  for  the  good  of  others,  so  that  in  all 
the  relations  he  sustained,  his  life-work  tended  continually  to  elevate, 
to  purify  and  to  bless.  He  aided  in  gathering  one  of  the  first  Sunday- 
schools,  and  in  1831,  more  than  four  hundred  youth  and  children  were 
present  on  one  occasion,  who  were  connected  with  the  school. 

THE    GOOD    MAN'S    TROUBLES    IN    HIS    LAST    DAYS. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Hyde  came  in  good  time  for  his  comfort ;  for  the 
course  of  events  during  the  last  few  years  of  his  life  was  an  increas- 
ing annoyance  to  him.  He  was  specially  opposed  to  some  of  the 
means  then  made  use  of  "  to  awaken  interest  in  the  churches."  In 
1828,  he  says  in  a  letter  to  a  friend:  "A  faithful,  praying,  exemplary 
minister  is  clothed  with  salvation;  his  best  aid  at  all  times,  is  a  pray- 
ing and  active  church.  The  plan  of  sending  out  evangelists  as  revival 
men  when  there  are  settled  pastors,  is  no  part  of  the  wisdom  which  is 
from  above,  it  comes  from  a  bad  source."  Again,  the  next  year,  he 
says  :  "  The  flood-gates  are  now  open,  and  the  desolating  evils  which 
I  have  long  expected,  are  beginning  to  be  realized;"  and  yet  again 
in  1830:  "  I  notice  with  much  trembling  the  progress  of  error  in  this 
land  and  in  the  churches  of  New  England.  The  New  Haven  scheme 
of  theology  is  a  broad  step-stone  to  Arminianism.  The  doctrines  of 
sovereign  grace  are  more  and  more  discarded."  And  in  1828  he  says  : 
"To  gather  converts  into  the  church  has  been  a  great  work,  far 
greater  than  after  any  former  revival,  especially  to  lead  them  to  acqui- 
esce in  that  part  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  adopted  by  the  church 
which  makes  the  sinner  wholly  dependent  on  the  sovereign  mercy 
of  God." 

SOCIETY    SIXTY    YEARS    AGO. 

Social  life  in  Lee,  during  the  earlier  days  of  Dr.  Hyde,  was  rather 
simple  and  primitive.  The  children  of  those  days  made  a  good  sup- 
per and  breakfast  of  mush  and  milk  ;  pork  and  beans  and  boiled  beef 
and  cabbage  were  the  principal  dishes  in  the  farmer's  family,  while 
ham  and  eggs,  hulled  corn  and  johnny  cake  were  occasional  delicacies. 


G8  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

The  Bible  and  the  almanac  and  one  or  two  standard  volumes  of 
English  literature  were  the  common  library,  to  which  was  added  in 
some  families,  as  the  years  passed  on,  the  weekly  newspaper,  and 
sometimes,  though  rarely,  a  magazine.  The  daily  newspaper  was  not 
in  the  earl}'  part  of  Dr.  Hyde's  ministry,  known  in  this  small  town, 
but  the  news  was  gathered  at  the  store,  or  the  "Red  Lion,"  and  few 
who  have  any  memory  of  the  coarse  or  gossiping  talk — of  the  well 
worn  stories,  and  the  rough  practical  jokes  which  frequently  preceded 
and  followed  the  flip  or  egg  nogg — would  care  to  exchange  our  present 
habits  of  social  life  for  those  of  that  earlier  da}'.  The  tailoress  and 
dressmaker  and  shoemaker  went  round  from  house  to  house,  to  assist 
the  family  in  making  the  changes  and  preparations  from  Fall  to  Win- 
ter and  from  Winter  to  Spring.  The  common  method  of  traveling 
was  upon  horseback,  the  women  riding  upon  side-saddles  or  upon 
pdlions,  during  the  first  half  of  Dr.  Hyde's  ministry.  The  people 
being  of  social  nature,  lost  no  opportunity  for  pleasant  talk,  and  going 
to  meeting,  for  a  family  who  had  been  shut  in  to  themselves  all  the 
week,  was  prized  for  its  opportunities  of  social  intercourse  by  all,  and 
probably  by  some  who  cared  little  for  its  devotional  opportunities. 
Toddy  and  flip  were  the  common  beverages,  and  pipes  and  liquor 
were  always  furnished  at  the  meetings  of  the  ministers  of  the  county 
at  Dr.  Hyde's.  Dr.  Gale  tells  us  that  in  the  erection  of  the  meeting- 
house which  preceded  this  one,  Elisha  Crocker  is  credited  with  one 
barrel  of  rum,  $40.00,  and  Seth  Backus,  by  attending  three  carpen- 
ters' meetings,  and  expending  for  liquor  each  time  seventy-five  cents. 
Even  after  a  change  was  brought  about,  it  is  said  that  some  people 
could  never  believe  that  Dr.  Hyde's  voice  was  quite  so  sonorous  and 
musical  as  before  he  gave  up  taking  a  little  Jamaica  before  he  went 
into  the  pulpit. 

TOWN    REGULATION    OF    CHURCH    SUPPORT. 

The  town  meeting  in  New  England  has  always  been  a  source  of 
business  training  and  special  education.  The  subjects  for  discussion 
and  disposal  were  broad  and  various,  and  in  Lee,  till  1830,  they  em- 
braced the  regulation  of  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  lay  affairs  ;  even 
the  hours  of  public  religious  worship  being  settled  in  town  meetings. 
At  the  April  meeting  in  1806,  the  town  voted  to  reject  a  proposition 
that  there  should  be  but  one  preaching  service  through  the  ensuing 
Winter,  and  a  town  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  Dr.  Hyde 
"to  see  if  it  will  be  agreeable  with  him  to  have  the  intermission  one 
hour,  through  the  ensuing  year."  The  tax  for  support  of  worship  was 
then  territorial  and  embraced  all  residing  within  the  parish,  unless  they 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  G9 

had  certificate  of  membership  in  some  other  society,  and  contributed 
to  the  support  of  the  gospel  in  that  "order."  In  1820,  there  was  an 
article  in  the  warrant,  "  to  see  if  the  town  will  determine  whether 
non-resident  proprietors  of  land  who  do  not  lodge  such  certificates 
with  the  town  clerk,  shall  be  exempt  from  being  taxed  for  the  support 
of  the  Gospel." 

THE    TOWN    MEETING    ORATORS. 

The  town  meetings  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  for  develop- 
ment in  knowledge  of  general  business,  in  the  elementary  rules  which 
govern  parliamentary  bodies,  and  in  the  art  of  public  speech.  From 
the  drafting  of  the  warrant  with  its  brief  and  orderly  setting  forth 
in  distinct  articles  of  each  separate  matter  to  be  considered,  down 
through  all  the  business  to  its  final  ends,  it  is,  in  many  respects,  one 
of  the  best  possible  schools  for  the  training  of  men  for  public  work, 
leadership  and  influence.  At  these  meetings  in  Lee,  I  remember  well 
in  my  younger  dajs,  the  quiet  and  logical  manner  in  which,  as  a  well- 
disciplined  lawyer  and  logician,  Mr.  Porter  was  accustomed  to  state 
his  views;  Mr.  Tremain  of  South  Lee  was  one  of  the  best  of  the  de- 
baters ;  the  committee  reports  of  Walter  Laflin  were  good  specimens  of 
minute  accuracy  of  detail  ;  and  there  were  many  men,  of  capacity  much 
above  the  average,  who  used  to  figure  in  the  business  and  speech  of 
those  meetings,  some  of  which  (held  till  1836  in  the  audience  room  of 
the- Congregational  church)  were  long  and  stormy,  ran  far  into  the 
evening,  and  sometimes  continued  and  closed  with  rude  and  boisterous 
uproar.  Clear  above  all,  I  seem  to  hear  the  trumpet  tones  of  the 
clear,  ringing  voice  of  the  late  Samuel  A.  Hulbert,  as  (generally  in 
the  stormiest  moments  of  the  wordy  war)  he  stated  his  opinion  and 
with  a  zeal  which  sometimes  amounted  to  vehement  and  stormy  elo- 
quence, urged  his  views  upon  his  fellow-townsmen.  I  have  heard 
bursts  of  eloquence  in  town  and  society  meetings  from  Mr.  Hulbert, 
which  in  magnetic  power  and  force,  were  not  inferior  to  the  best 
efforts  of  the  greatest  of  the  many  eloquent  men  whose  public  speech 
it  has  been  my  occasional  good  fortune  to  hear.  Among  the  men  of 
Lee  whom  I  have  known,  Mr.  Hulbert  had  the  most  dominant  person- 
ality, and  was  the  most  liberally  freighted  with  brain  and  heart  and 
force  of  will  and  vehemency  of  nature.  He  was  at  all  times  and 
everywhere,  a  power  in  whatever  direction  he  gave  himself  with  a 
will,  and,  with  the  training  which  Dr.  Hyde  ami  Mr.  Porter  had  en- 
joyed, would  have  filled  a  large  place  outside  of  and  beyond  the  com- 
paratively narrow  circle  in  which  he  was  known  here. 


70  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

PAPER    MILLS    AND    OTHER    INDUSTRIES. 

The  earliest  mills  in  Lee,  as  in  other  new  settlements,  were  saw  and 
grist  mills.  There  were  also  powder  mills  and  a  fulling  mill  at  an 
early  day.  The  powder  mills  frequently  blew  up,  and  the  one  in  the 
Center  was  abandoned  by  Laflin,  Loomis  &  Co.,  after  the  disastrous 
explosion  of  1824;  the  one  on  "Powder  Mill  brook"  at  South  Lee 
has  since  been  abandoned.  Ball,  Bassett  &  Co.'s  woolen  factory  in 
North  Lee,  and  one  in  South  Lee,  at  one  time  did  considerable  busi- 
ness, but  both  have  been  superseded  by  other  mills.  The  Bassetts 
(Thomas  and  Cornelius),  and  before  them,  Fenner  Foote  and  Chap- 
man, and  Leishman,  used  to  get  out  chair  stuffs,  and  send  away 
$8,000  to  $12,000  a  year.  Paper,  for  many  years  the  leading  manu- 
facture of  Lee,  was  started  where  Owen  &  Hulbert's  mills  were  after- 
wards located  at  South  Lee,  in  the  early  years  of  this  century,  by  Sam- 
uel Church,  who  came  to  Lee  from  East  Hartford.  Mr.  Church  after- 
wards built  a  mill  near  where  the  Eagle  Mills  now  stand.  This 
business  increased  rapidly,  and  in  1851  there  were  twenty-five  paper 
mills  in  Lee,  with  an  annual  product  of  nearly  $2,000,000.  W.  & 
W.  C.  Laflin  built  where  the  Housatonic  Mill  now  stands,  a  mill, 
which,  in  its  day,  was  deemed  a  marvel  of  extent  and  capacity.  The 
mills  of  Owen  &  Hurlbut  at  South  Lee,  of  the  Mays  (formerly  Inger- 
soll  &  May),  of  Benton  &  Garfield,  of  Ives,  Sturgis  &  Co.,  of  Phelps 
&  Field,  and  of  Whyte  &  Hulbert,  and  other  mills  still  owned  and 
managed  by  well-known  and  honored  citizens;  the  long-continued  and 
well-managed  carriage  manufactory  of  S.  &  A.  Hulbert,  the  cotton 
factory  of  Beach  &  Royce,  and  the  machine  shop  of  Tanner  &  Perkins, 
are  all  too  fresh  in  memory,  or  in  observation,  to  need  more  than  a 
mere  mention  here.  Full  statements  as  to  all  of  these,  will  be  found 
in  the  historical  notes.  No  business  in  Lee  has  probably  ever  been 
conducted  with  the  vigor,  enterprise  and  energy  which  result  in  the 
twenty  tons  a  day  of  paper,  that  can  now  be  produced  by  the  Smith 
Paper  Company  ;  but  our  smaller  mills,  our  stores  and  banks  of  dis- 
count and  of  saving,  have  been  generally  prudently  and  energetically 
conducted,  and  some  of  them  have  been  models  of  prudent  manage- 
ment and  fair  and  honorable  dealings  and  results. 

LOCAL    POSSIBILITIES    FOR   THE   NEXT    CENTURY. 

Another  Centennial  will  undoubtedly  find  some  changes  of  which  we 
do  not  now  dream ;  but  without  disturbing  our  present  self-compla- 
cency, we  may  hope  to  see  the  general  prosperity  considerably  in- 
creased, and  showing  itself  in  many  more  of  the  beautiful  homes, 
which  in  some  respects  are  models  of  taste  and  of  comfort ;   with  addi- 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  71 

•tional  evidence,  in  well-selected  and  well-worn  libraries,  of  that  in- 
creased intelligence  which  should  wait  upon  added  wealth  and  leisure  ; 
with  memorial  hall  filled  with  curiosities  and  mementoes  ;  with  some 
tastef  id  works  of  art  in  sculpture,  and  in  painting,  and  with  maps  and 
charts  and  an  increased  number  of  well  selected  books.  The  roads 
and  bridges  in  all  your  valleys  and  over  your  beautiful  hills,  we  may 
hope  will  all  be  as  well  hardened,  as  some  specimens  of  your  best 
roads  now  are  ;  and  let  us  hope  that  your  beautiful  "  Fern  Cliff  "  will 
have  been  secured  as  a  place  of  pleasant  resort,  to  which  all  shall  have 
a  right  to  go,  and  its  enjoyment  not  be  dependent  on  the  kindness 
of  any  single  citizen. 

Your  schools  have  progressed  from  the  smallest  beginnings  in  teach- 
ing and  a  maximum  quantity  of  flogging,  to  a  government  by  moral 
influence  and  a  teaching  which  fits  a  young  man  for  college ;  your 
school  houses  from  mere  barn-like  places  of  shelter,  with  little  warmth 
in  Winter  and  abundant  heat  in  Summer,  have  been  transformed  to 
rather  comfortable  buildings,  but  neither  are  in  all  respects  and  in  all 
parts  of  your  town  up  to  your  ideal ;  nor  are  thejr  quite  all  they  should 
be,  in  a  wealthy  and  prosperous  community,  and  when  exceptional 
and  excessive  taxes  for  other  and  more  questionable  purposes,  shall 
have  been  wiped  out  and  forgotten,  (and  perhaps  before,)  we  ought  to, 
and  therefore  probably  shall  see,  further  progress  in  that  always  safe 
direction,  in  preparation  for  the  next  Centennial. 

PROGRESS    IN    PEACE. 

When  we  extend  our  vision  beyond  our  own  narrow  bounds,  and  be- 
hold the  universal  progress,  we  see  that  Lee  has  no  more  than  kept 
step  to  the  music  of  the  universal  procession,  which  bears  along  our 
town,  our  country,  and  the  world.  Progress  during  the  last  century 
has  been  universal  and  rapid.  In  agriculture  the  plow,  the  hoe,  the 
scythe  and  the  sickle,  are  still  used,  but  greatly  as  they  are  improved 
from  those  used  by  our  grandfathers,  they  are  quite  eclipsed  by  the 
reaper,  the  mower,  the  planter  and  the  thresher,  even  as  the  wheat 
fields  of  30,000  and  50,000  acres,  owned  by  a  single  proprietor,  eclipse 
the  narrow  strips  of  the  golden  grain,  which  a  century  since  were  scat- 
tered among  the  girdled  trees  or  blackened  stumps  of  the  New  England 
farmers'  wheat  fields. 

PROGRESS    IN    WAR. 

In  war.  the  old  shot  gun  of  the  Revolution,  which  in  time  of  war 
was  all  too  slow,  and  in  time  of  peace : 

"  Though  well  aimed  at  duck  or  plover, 
Steered  wide  and  kicked  it's  owner  over," 


72  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

has  been  superseded  by  the  revolver,  the  breech-loading  rifle,  and  the- 
needle  gun:  while  the  old-time  cannon  (well  imitated  by  Mother  Per- 
ry's yarn  beam)  has  given  place  to  the  rifled  cannon  ;  and  the  Mitrail- 
leuse, the  huge  columbiad,  the  improved  torpedo,  and  other  ingeniously 
and  fearfully  terrible  weapons,  improvements  in  which,  we  may  hope, 
will,  before  our  next  Centennial,  render  war  .impossible  by  securing 
the  certain  annihilation  of  both  hostile  parties,  whenever  it  is  at- 
tempted. We  need  not  multiply  illustrations  from  telegraphy,  from 
steamboats,  railroads  and  locomotives,  from  improved  printing  presses 
and  bank  locks,  of  this  universal  progress. 

PROGRESS    IN    USEFUL    INVENTIONS. 

Our  nation  has  had  its  full  share  in  it  all,  and,  more  than  an}-  other, 
has  compelled  genius  and  science  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  practical 
uses  of  man.  The  telegraph  was  used  as  a  plaything  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  princes  and  nobles  in  Spain,  doing  small  duty  in  a  circuit  of 
300  feet,  three  centuries  ago,  but  it  was  reserved  for  our  Morse  to  in- 
vent and  give  to  mankind  an  instrument  which  binds  the  earth 
in  electric  net-work  by  which  distant  seas  are  crossed  and  continents 
bound  together;  by  which  war  in  all  its  details,  is  directed  from 
the  office  of  the  strategist,  by  which  distant  diplomacies  are  regulated 
and  the  commerce  of  the  world  is  kept  in  perfect  and  instantaneous 
communication.  Shakespeare's  Puck  would  girdle  the  earth  in  forty 
minutes,  but  the  poetic  inspiration  of  Shakespeare  has  been  distanced 
in  real  life,  by  the  splendid  achievements  of  the  telegraph,  and  "every 
electric  click,  that  flashes  upon  the  thousand  wires  its  messages  over 
the  land  and  under  the  seas  all  round  the  globe,  proclaims  to  all  peoples, 
and  shall  perpetuate  the  memory  of  Morse." 

Egypt  knew  of,  and  in  certain  limited  ways,  employed  the  steam 
engine,  fifteen  centuries  ago  ;  but  it  was  reserved  for  our  own  Fulton 
to  make  it  useful  on  the  seas  and  by  it, — almost  to  annihilate  distance  ; 
while  our  English-speaking  brother,  was  at  the  same  time,  harnessing 
it  to  the   iron   horse,   and   compelling  it  to  perform  like  duty  on  the 

land. 

THESE    TIMES    BETTER    THAN    THE    OLD    TIMKS. 

With  this  wide-spread  and  manifest  progress  in  that  which  dimin- 
ishes human  labor,  and  facilitates  in  countless  ways  the  inn 
wealth  and  of  seeming  prosperity,  has  there  been  concurrent  advance- 
ment in  the  highesl  type  of  civilization,  refinement,  religion  and 
higher  education'.'  Are  the  people  more  virtuous  and  more  intelli- 
gent V  1  answer,  unhesitatingly,  ifes.  Beginning  with  the  average 
household,  compare  it  with  that  of  a  hundred  years  ago.      AYho  doubts 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  73 

that  it  is  wiser,  broader,  purer  and  more  intelligent  ?  The  material 
for  thought,  has  grown  silently,  and  sometimes  without  appreciation. 
There  is  in  the  average  home  less  whisky  and  more  books  and  news- 
papers and  journals  and  chromos  and  engravings,  all  of  which  are 
silent  workers  toward  the  higher  life.  Instead  of  spending  the  even- 
ing at  the  tavern  or  the  store,  the  average  American  of  to-day  is  prob- 
ably reading  what  was  clone  last  week  or  yesterday,  in  Turkey  or 
some  other  center  of  present  thought  or  interest. 

THE    NATIONS    HERE    UNITED. 

There  has  never  before  been  such  a  gathering  together  and  admix- 
ture of  the  races  of  the  earth  as  in  our  country,  and  while  this  has  its 
dangers  for  the  future  and  its  inconveniences  in  the  present,  the  aug- 
mentation of  freedom,  of  breadth,  of  human  charity  and  of  the  highest 
and  best  philanthrophy,  is  great  beyond  our  computation.  I  well  re- 
member that  in  my  boyhood  one  of  the  chief  prayers  of  the  church  at 
all  missionary  meetings  of  concert  for  prayer  was  that  God  would 
"open  wide  and  effectual  doors,"  by  which  our  teachers  of  Christianity 
might  go  in  and  enlighten  the  dark  places  of  the  earth.  How  has 
God  answered  these  prayers  ?  Has  he  not  sent  of  the  men  of  all  these 
divers  nations  to  our  doors  that  we  may  find,  ever  ready  to  our  hand, 
the  highest  and  best  work  waiting  to  be  done  ?  How  shall  we  receive 
the  Mongolian  ?  Surely,  unless  we  would  turn  the  clock  of  the  cen- 
turies backward,  as  we  have  received  the  other  nations  of  Caucasian 
race,  and  in  these  last  days  the  African. 

AMERICA    FORETOLD    OF    OLD. 

Is  not  ours  the  land  which  Ezekiel  saw  in  vision  ?  "Between  two 
seas — whose  people  were  gathered  out  of  the  nations  of  the  earth — the 
land  where  the  stranger  hath  an  inheritance  ;  the  land  of  unwalled 
towns  and  villages — the  land  of  broad  rivers  and  streams,"  and  whose 
people  Jeremiah  represents  as  "gathering  themselves  together  and 
appointing  to  themselves  one  head;  a  people  whose  nobles  shall  be  of 
themselves  and  whose  governors  shall  proceed  from  the  midst  of  them  ?  " 
Thus  has  God  gathered  this  people  of  whom  he  spake  aforetime  by 
his  prophets,  in  this  "  glorious  land  which  blooms  between  the  seas," 
from  the  northern  borders  of  it,  where  God's  perpetual  bow  of  peace 
glorifies  Niagara's  cliffs,  to  the  sea-girt  southern  line,  where  God's 
gifts  make  the  earth  almost  an  Eden  of  fragrance  and  beauty,  and  from 
the  rock-bound  Atlantic,  where  the  eastern  song  of  the  sea  begins  its 
morning  music,  to  the  far  off  Pacific,  where  the  western  waters  mur- 
mur their  benedictions  to  our  land,  as  the  tide  goes  out  through  the 
10 


/4  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Golden  Gate  beneath  the  setting  sun  :  here  for  an  hundred  years,  has 
this  nation,  holding  in  trust  the  largest  hopes  for  freedom  and  human- 
ity, endured  and  prospered.  Prom  an  area  of  less  than  one  million 
square  miles,  we  have  increased  our  territory  to  nearly  four  millions, 
and  from  3,000,000  of  people  we  have  increased  by  our  own  growth 
and  our  ingathering  from  the  nations,  till  we  are  more  than  40,000,000. 

A    GENUINE    SOCIAL    PROGRESS. 

In  all  this  material  increase  the  moral  and  intellectual  growth  of  our 
town  and  of  our  nation  has  not  lagged  behind,  and  whatever  may  be 
said  of  creeds  and  of  man-made  formulas  of  faith,  there  has  never  been 
in  this  country  so  much  of  practical  Christianity  as  tiiere  is  to-day; 
never  so  high  a  sense  of  man's  stewardship  in  the  disposal  of  his 
wealth  (notwithstanding  occasional  and  notorious  exceptions)  ;  never 
so  high  a  recognition  of  the  rights  and  dignity  of  labor;  never  was 
man  as  man  and  woman  as  woman  of  such  worth  as  to-day.  In  all  our 
history,  there  has  not  been  a  period  when  the  brain  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple has  teemed  with  such  fertility  as  in  the  last  twenty-five  years. 
As  it  has  been  in  Lee,  so  has  it  been  (perhaps  in  higher  average,  for 
you  are  a  conservative  people)  throughout  our  country.  The  brain 
and  moral  nature  of  the  people  have  been  subsoiled  by  anti-slavery 
and  temperance  discussions  ;  by  discussions  of  human  rights  and  the 
powers  of  the  government ;  and  by  the  red-hot  ploughshare  of  civil 
war,  which,  driven  by  steam  and  the  telegraph,  has  furrowed  our 
land  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  burning  out  by  its  terrible  fires,  the 
mortal  leprosy  of  slavery,  and  educating  the  people  to  a  higher  patriot- 
ism, and  creating  a  nation  in  which  central  power  may  be  harmonized 
with  local  independence;  and  the  largest  personal  liberty  may  co-exist 
with  perfect  submission  to  imperative  and  controlling  law.  We  have 
come  forth  from  the  terrible  contest,  our  Hag  still  floating  in  its 
beauty,  with  no  star  erased,  and  our  good  ship  of  state  is  floating 
upon  the  bosom  of  a  new  century. 

CONCLUSION. 

And  now,  God  of  our  Fathers,  if  darkness  and  the  tempest  are  still 
before  us,  give  us  honest  and  fearless  pilots  who  can  weather  the  storm, 
and  when  kings  and  emperors  and  their  crowns  and  scepters  shall 
have  passed  away,  or  shall  l»e  retained  (as  now  in  our  mother-land), 
only  as  the  convenient  and  time-honored  forms  and  pageantries,  by 
which  the  peoples  of  the  earth  shall  conduct  their  public  national  af- 
fairs, grant  tha't  our  republic  may  still  endure,  purified  and  lifted  to 
higher  life  by  the  buffetings  of  adversity,  strengthened  by  time,  and 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  75 

by  the  reverent  affection  of  a  grateful  and  united  nation,  loving  and 
exemplifying  liberty  under  law  ;  and  may  the  dear  old  flag  still  wave 
on  land  and  on  sea,  fit  emblem  of  a  people,  who  by  the  example  of  a 
regulated,  rational  and  enduring  constitutional  liberty,  shall  have 
earned  yet  higher  right  to  be  represented  by  admiring  Frenchmen  in 
the  harbor  of  New  York,  by  the  statue  about  to  be  erected  of  "  Liberty 
enlightening  the  world." 

"  As  it  floated  long  before  us, 
Be  it  ever  floating  o'er  us, 

O'er  our  land  from  shore  to  shore ; 
There  are  freemen  yet  to  wave  it, 
Millions  who  would  die  to  save  it, 

Wave  it,  save  it,  ever  more." 

Mr.  Chamberlin  held  the  large  audience  in  close  atten- 
tion during  the  delivery  of  his  long  address,  and  at  its 
close  the  band  played  an  exquisitely  rendered  piece. 

William  Pitt  Palmer,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  the  poet  of 
the  day,  was  next  introduced  as  Lee-born  but  Stockbridge- 
bred.  Mr.  Palmer  prefaced  the  reading  of  his  poem  with 
the  following  remarks. 

Mr.  President,  Ladles  and  Gentlemen  : 

When  the  Continental  March  of  sylvan  destruction,  which  began  at 
Plymouth  in  1620,  reached  this  far  inland  valley,  it  must  have  pre- 
sented a  scene  unsurpassed  for  beauty  in  the  whole  Temperate  Zone. 
It  was  formed  on  just  the  right  scale  to  satisfy  the  taste  of  a  lover  of 
nature,  to  whom  the  sublime  in  scenery  is  not  an  indispensable  requi- 
site to  its  perfect  enjoyment.  If  to  the  simple  inhabitants,  the  leafy 
world  around  them  ever  suggested  any  artificial  change  in  its  confor- 
mation, they  were  destitute  of  all  mechanical  appliances  for  effecting 
if  xlie  landscape,  therefore,  remained,  year  after  year,  just  as  it  had 
existed  for  untold  ages.  Spring  and  Summer  draped  it,  as  of  old,  in 
their  green  mantle  ;  Autumn,  in  vesture  more  gorgeous  than  ever 
adorned  the  tiring-chamber  of  Kings ;  and  Winter  folded  in  its  gra- 
cious ermine  the  feeble  life  in  death,  so  soon  to  rejoice  in  another 
vernal  resurrection.  From  lateral  ridge  to  ridge,  all  was  one  un- 
broken forest,  save  where  the  benignant  river  had  blessed  its  dusky 
children  with  treeless  intervales,  to  which  even  their  impotence  of  the 
proper  instrumental  means,  could  give  the  semblance  of  agricultural 
life. 


76 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 


Into  this  primitive  solitude,  came  our  hardy  ancestors  some  seven 
score  years  ago,  bringing  with  them  the  wants  and  habits  of  civilized 
society ;  and  if  perchance  they  also  brought  a  taste  for  natural  beauty, 
it  must  have  been  smothered  or  quite  extinguished,  by  the  hard  neces- 
sities of  their  surroundings.  For,  to  the  pioneer,  bread  is  the  staff  of 
life  also  and  most  especially,  and  to  win  it  from  the  wilderness,  his  axe 
must  first  dispel  its  "  boundless  contiguity  of  shade,"  and  let  rain  and 
sunshine  find  free  access  to  the  dark,  dank  soil,  never  yet  glorified  by 
the  golden  footprints  of  Ceres.  So  the  primitive  beauty  of  the  Berk- 
shire Hills  had  to  give  place  to  the  stern  necessities  of  the  sturdy  pio- 
neers, who  established  in  the  heart  of  the  Housatonic  Valley  the 
famous  Indian  Mission,  of  which  Old  Stockbridge  became  the  central 
point. 

In  the  verses  I  shall  have  the  honor  to  read,  I  have  sought  to  sketch 
merely  the  three  local  aspects  above  indicated — the  aboriginal  sylvan 
beauty ;  the  blotches  and  blemishes,  the  rawness,  roughness,  and  gen- 
eral disfigurement  of  what  I  venture  to  call  the  Stump  Age;  and 
lastly,  the  loveliness  that  now  smiles  upon  us  from  every  side,  as  if 
our  Alma  Mater  were  complacently  conscious  of  her  peerless  charms. 
How  much  these  may  be  heightened,  and  what  new  ones  added, 
during  the  lapse  of  another  century  of  continued  improvement  under 
the  fostering  care  of  "Laurel  Hill,"  "  Fern  Cliff,"  and  like  associations 
throughout  the  County,  the  eye  of  imagination  only  can  now  dimly 
discern.  When  village,  and  hamlet,  and  isolated  farm-house,  shall  all 
have  been  touched  by  the  wand  of  refined  taste,  our  Berkshire  will  be 
so  charming,  that  the  mere  thought  of  its  beauty  makes  one  feel  that 
he  was  born  too  soon,  and  wish,  with  Franklin,  that  he  might  be  per- 
mitted to  revisit  his  native  land,  after  each  hundred  years'  slumber  in 
her  maternal  bosom. 

MR.  PALMER'S  POEM. 

THE    MODEL    VALE. 

Kind  friends,  if  idle  fame  has  raised 

The  pleasing  expectation, 
That  rhymes  of  mine  were  like  to  lend 

One  charm  to  this  occasion  ; 
Pray  do  not  blame  the  simple  bard 

For  his  compliant  ditty, 
But  charge  the  disappointment  all 

To  your  insane  Committee  ! 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  77 

They  feared  no  lack  of  racy  "prose," 

Both  joyous  and  pathetic  ; 
But  even  that  would  please  the  more, 

If  pranked  with  foil  poetic  ; 
And,  therefore,  have  I  greatly  dared 

To  face  your  focal  glances, 
While  ray  decrepit  lyre  intones 

A  tale  of  rhythmic  fancies  : — 

The  scene  was  Nature's  model  vale, 

Where,  after  long  reflection, 
Like  Zeuxis,  she  had  grouped  and  posed 

Each  borrowed  charm's  perfection — 
The  fairest  hills,  the  gayest  meads, 

The  clearest  lakes  and  fountains — 
And  set  the  living  picture  in 

A  frame  of  graceful  mountains. 

But  sons  of  that  first  woeful  pair 

Who  brought  the  curse  of  toiling, 
Descried  the  wonder,  and  began 

Their  round  of  Eden-spoiling  ; 
They  felled  the  warbling  groves,  and  gashed 

The  mountain's  sylvan  towers  ; 
And  with  the  mattock,  scythe  and  share, 

Laid  low  the  friendless  flowers. 

The  Wood-nymphs  and  the  Oreads,  shocked 

At  such  dire  desecration, 
Caught  up  their  blackened  skirts  and  fled 

Their  ancient  habitation  ; 
And  left  the  spoilers  to  pursue 

Their  chopping  and  their  charring — 
Complete,  in  short,  their  perfect  work 

Of  universal  marring  ! 

But,  by  and  by,  when  things  were  grown 

Almost  beyond  enduring ; 
And  Nature's  wounds  seemed  past  all  hope 

Of  stanching,  much  less,  curing  ; 
There  came  a  Fairy  to  the  Vale, 

Of  most  enchanting  presence, 
And  softly  stole  a  gracious  spell 

Upon  the  artless  peasants. 


78  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Her  smile  was  like  the  purple  sheen 

That  plays  on  lake  and  river, 
When  laughing  ripples  glance  the  shafts 

From  Morning's  rosy  quiver ; 
Her  voice  as  sweet  as  sweetest  harp's, 

The  Summer  wind  just  kisses  ; 
And  witching  as  the  lays  that  charmed 

The  comrades  of  Ulysses. 

She  taught  them  that  the  moiling  swain 

May  find  sufficient  leisure 
To  nurse  a  sense  of  outward  grace 

To  thrill  with  inward  pleasure  ; 
And',  that  in  all  the  walks  of  life, 

It  is  our  hounden  duty, 
So  far  as  in  us  lies,  to  veil 

A  blemish  with  a  beauty. 

They  heard  and  heeded  well  the  words 

That  clearest  truth  reflected, 
Whose  simple  logic  rarely  fails 

To  make  her  laws  respected ; 
And  soon  the  outraged  vale  began 

To  show  a  smart  improvement ; 
For  manly  vigor  followed  up, 

As  woman  led  the  movement. 

To  blots  and  blemishes  anon 

The  change  proved  comi-tragic — 
Old  eye-sores  vanished  from  the  scene, 

As  if  by  force  of  magic  ; 
The  barn  no  longer  with  the  home 

Stood  elbowing  for  precedence  ; 
But  meekly  showed  its* sense  of  right, 

By  complaisant  recedence. 

The  stable  stole  behind  the  barn, 

Remoter  still,  the  swine-}rard ; 
The  door-yard  spurned  its  farther  use 

Of  chopping-place  and  kine-yard  : 
While  cart,  sled,  buggy,  kennel,  coop, 

Decorum's  hardened  scorners, 
Turned  tail,  and  hid  themselves  away 

In  proper  holes  and  corners. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  70 

At  last  the  Old  House  rubbed  its  eyes, 

And  blushed  to  see  how  shabby 
It  needs  must  look  in  gabardine 

So  threadbare,  torn,  and  drabby  ; 
And  thereupon  it  set  to  work 

With  earnest  perseverance,  . 

Like  tattered  beau  resolved  to  show 

A  downright  spruce  appearance. 

Old  clapboard  lesions  straight  were  healed, 

Old  shingles  sloughed  their  mosses; 
New  panes,  instead  of  scarecrow  hats, 

Made  good  the  window's  losses  ; 
And  where  the  sun's  rude  eye  till  then, 

Had  glared  it's  bold  intrusion, 
Green  blinds  their  welcome  shadows  drop 

Upon  the  dear  seclusion. 

And  vines  were  planted  by  the  door, 

The  woodbine  or  clematis, 
To  curtain  in  the  rustic  porch 

And  drape  the  airy  lattice ; 
And  trees  of  graceful  form  and  leaf 

Soon  waved  along  all  highways, 
And  sent  their  verdant  juniors  forth 

To  farthest  lanes  and  by-ways  : 

So  well,  that  e'en  at  highest  noon, 

When  June's  keen  solstice  blazes, 
And  not  a  Sylph  in  all  the  sky 

Her  silvery  sun  shade  raises ; 
From  end  to  end  of  that  fair  vale, 

Where'er  one's  promenadings, 
He  threads  long  arbors  fresh  and  cool 

With  elm  and  maple  shadings. 

Yon  stream  that  makes  our  native  vales 

A  rival  land  of  Goshen, 
Erst  gathered  in  its  myriad  rills 

And  bore  them  back  to  ocean, 
Unused  in  all  its  willowy  course 

By  groves  of  pines  and  beeches, 
Save  where  the  Indian's  birch  canoe 

Went  idling  down  the  reaches. 


80  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

But  now,  where  near-confronting  hills 

Oppose  their  jutting  shoulders, 
Or  rended  crags  have  lined  the  shore 

With  dam-inviting  boulders  ; 
Behold,  the  valemen's  cunning  hands, 

The  struggling  Samson  binding, 
Bend  his  blind  strength  to  countless  tasks 

Of  spinning,  forging,  grinding. 

And  what  a  nobler  triumph  still, 

When  from  the  full-urned  mountains 

They  won  for  garden,  park  and  lawn, 
The  flash  and  plash  of  fountains  ; 

And  bade  the  boon,  for  rich  and  poor, 
Exhaustlessly  upwelling, 

A  pure  and  sure  Bethesda  bide 
In  every  village  dwelling  ! 

And  whereas,  erst,  no  careless  soul 

In  all  those  mangled  bowers, 
E'er  waked  to  give  one  kindly  thought 

To  Eden's  exiled  flowers  ; 
There's  scarce  a  cotter  now,  but  will, 

By  dint  of  harder  toiling, 
Find  time  to  cherish  these  dear  waifs 

Of  Adam's  garden  spoiling. 

Nor  has  his  home  parterre  engrossed 

His  hard  earned  leisure  solely  ; 
Eondly  he  helps  to  dress  the  scene 

By  kindred  dust  made  holy  ; 
Till  mid  the  verdure  and  the  bloom 

That  veil  life's  last  dark  portal, 
He  almost  smiles  to  view  the  bourne 

Twixt  mortal  and  immortal. 

And  lo  !  how  fair  the  public  taste, 

To  match  the  general  brightness, 
Has  robed  the  village  church  near  by, 

In  stole  of  saintly  whiteness, 
Which,  thus  arraved,  may  well  beseem 

To  eyes  of  pensive  weepers, 
The  earthly  tent  of  angels  sent 

To  guard  the  silent  sleepers — 


RESIDENCE  OF  WELLINGTON  SMITH. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  8] 

Thus  Grace  and  Dryad  came  again, 

And  with  them  came  the  Muses, 
Whose  blessed  office  is  to  teach 

That  life's  true  aims  and  uses, 
Are  not  best  shown  in  heaping  gold, 

Or  multiplying  acres, 
Nor  lending  sacrilegious  hands 

To  Beauty's  image-breakers, 

But  in  the  culture  of  the  mind, 

The  soul's  divine  emotions, 
Love,  faith,  peace,  sympathy  with  all 

Heroic  self-devotions  ; 
With  reverence  for  genuine  Avorth, 

No  matter  what  the  station 
Of  him  who  lifts  a  human  heart 

To  angel  aspiration. 

And  just  as  nature's  face  inproved, 

Improved  her  votaries  faces, 
Grown  faithful  mirrors  to  reflect 

Her  humanizing  graces; 
While  gentle  manners  so  prevail, 

They  force  the  fond  conviction, 
That  here,  at  least,  the  Golden  Age 

Is  no  poetic  fiction  ! 

CONCLUDING  EXEBCISES  IN  THE  CHUBCH. 
At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Palmer's  poem,  the  audience 
were  invited  to  unite  with  the  choir  in  singing  "  America," 
which  was  rendered  with  a  will.  Mr.  Wellington  Smith, 
the  marshal  of  the  day,  then  announced  the  order  of  pro- 
cession to  the  dining  tent,  and  the  assembly  was  dismissed 
with  the  benediction  pronounced  by  Rev.  Lyman  S.  Row- 
land, of  Lee.  So  complete  were  the  arrangements  of  the 
marshal  and  his  assistants,  that  there  was  no  hitch  in 
transferring  the  large  assembly  from  the  church  to  the 
tent.  Six  hundred  and  seventy-six  guests  were  seated  at 
the  well-spread  board  of  Messrs.  Hall  &  Whipple,  and 
were  waited  upon  by  seventy  of  the  young  ladies  and 
11 


82  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

gentlemen  of  Lee.  who,  with  their  festive  regimentals  and 
polite  attentions,  added  grace  to  the  occasion  and  honor 
to  the  town. 

AT  AND  AFTER  THE  DINNER. 

After  the  well-filled  tables  had  been  pretty  thoroughly 
cleared,  and  the  company  put  in  good  humor  for  the 
intellectual  feast,  President  Garfield  introduced  the  speak- 
ing with  a  few  well-chosen  words.  The  responses  were 
nearly  all  made  to  formal  sentiments,  the  first  of  which 
was  as  follows : 

The  United  States — May  her  influence  among  the  nations  be  equal 
to  her  domain  ;  may  her  sons  remember  that  righteousness  exalteth  a 
nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people. 

To  respond  to  this,  Senator  Henry  L.  Dawes  of  Pitts- 
field  was  called  upon.  He  briefly  alluded  to  the  growth 
of  the  city  during  the  past  hundred  years,  to  its  vast 
increase  in  territory  and  population,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  this  unparalleled  development  in  the  "  town  organ- 
ization "  principle.  The  town  meeting  is  to  liberty,  what 
the  primary  school  is  to  science.  So  far  as  the  growth  of 
the  city  has  outstripped  the  township,  it  cannot  but 
give  alarm  to  every  sincere  and  candid  patriot.  "  I  hope 
for  one,"  said  the  speaker,  "  there  will  never  be  another 
city  in  the  commonwealth."  Then  turning  to  national 
affairs,  he  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  reconciling  and  unit- 
ing the  lately  conflicting  sections  of  our  common  country. 
In  our  republic  there  is  no  room  for  conquered  states. 
The  demand  of  the  hour  is  for  another  great  character  in 
history.  As  Washington  was  the  Father,  Lincoln  the  Pre- 
server, and  Grant  the  Defender  of  the  country,  so  now 
another  is  needed  who  shall  combine  all  these  elements 
with  Pteconcilation.  When  such  a  one  comes,  over 
his  head  will  be  written  the  grand  title,  "  Pacifiator 
of  States." 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  83 

Massachusetts,  by  birth  or  adoption  our  venerable  and  respected 
mother — We  cherish  her  memory  with  heartfelt  regard.  May  she 
never  be  disgraced  by  those  of  her  sons  whom  she  has  delighted  to 
honor. 

To  this  Richard  Goodman  of  Lenox  responded,  in  a 
bright  little  speech,  saying  that  whoever  spoke  for  Massa- 
chusetts ought  to  be  a  descendant  of  the  "  May  Flower." 
Unhappily,  the  Goodman  who  came  over  in  that  vessel, 
and  who  ought  to  have  been  his  progenitor  was  eaten  by 
bears  while  a  bachelor,  so  that  he  himself  was  only  an 
adopted  son.  While  Massachusetts  was  a  good  mother, 
she  was  also  an  excellent  mother-in-law. 

The  County  of  Berkshire — May  the  morals  of  her  sons  and  daugh- 
ters be  as  pure  as  her  mountain  streams,  their  aspirations  as  lofty  as 
her  hill-tops  ;  their  integrity  as  immutable  as  her  rocks.  May  her  pub- 
lic men,  her  clergy,  her  lawyers,  her  physicians,  emulate  the  bright 
examples  that  have  gone  before. 

Gen.  William  C.  Plunkett  of  Adams,  responded  in  a 
speech  full  of  pleasant  reminiscence  of  the  early  days  of 
the  county  when  factories  were  unknown,  and  linsey- 
woolsey  was  the  common  wear.  He  spoke  of  the  great 
progress  the  county  had  made  in  manufacturing,  and  of 
the  advance  in  education  as  well.  Of  Williams  college  in 
particular  he  spoke  highly.  Fewer  men,  he  said,  grow 
up,  vegetate  and  die  at  this  college  than  at  any  other  of 
the  United  States.  Gen.  Plunkett  told  several  stories 
of  Dr.  Hyde  and  of  the  early  worthies  of  Lee,  and  in  clos- 
ing spoke  of  the  "  Berkshire  Jubilee  "  in  1844,  inviting 
all  present  to  attend  its  repetition  sixty-seven  years 
hence. 

The  next  sentiment  was  a  volunteer  one,  offered  by 
Amos  G.  Hulbert: 

The  Orator  of  the  Day — Born  a  gentleman,  happily  not  spoiled  in 
making  up;   Excelsior  his   motto.     In  youth  and  early  manhood  a 


84  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

first-class  carriage  trimmer,  later  a  safe  counselor,  an  able  advocate,  an 
honest  lawyer,  a  genial  friend.  J I  is  wife  the  better-half.  God  bless 
them  both  ! 

Mr.  Chamberlain  acknowledged  the  compliment  very 
handsomely,  speaking  of  Jiis  early  life  in  Lee,  and  the 
assistance  he  got  from  his  employers,  the  Hulberts.  After 
graduating  at  Harvard  law  school,  where  he  was  a  class- 
mate with  President  Hayes,  he  tried  to  get  Mr.  Dawes  to 
open  a  law  office  with  him  in  Springfield.  But  Dawes 
didn't  go,  and  so  their  paths  in  life  had  diverged.  He 
told  several  capital  stories,  and  left  his  hearers  wishing 
for  more  when  he  sat  down. 

The  Town  of  Lee. 

Alexander  Hyde,  introduced  as  a  gentleman  who  had 
energy  enough  to  stay  in  Lee  "  to  strengthen  the  things 
that  remain,"  responded  that  Lee  needed  no  orator  to 
speak  her  praises.  Her  sons  and  daughters  assembled 
to-day  are  living  witnesses  of  her  character.  Our  chief 
glory  is  in  the  work  our  churches  and  schools  have  done 
and  are  doing.  He  spoke  particularly  of  the  High  School 
and  the  education  it  afforded  to  all.  He  alluded  to  the 
late  Samuel  A.  Hulbert,  to  whom  the  town  was  in  a  great 
measure  indebted  for  its  High  School,  its  Railroad  and  other 
public  institutions. 

The  Judiciary — A  necessary  and  indispensable  department  of  our 
Government.  While  a  praise  to  all  that  do  well,  yet  a  terror  to  all 
of  us. 

President  Garfield,  in  a  few  happy  words,  introduced 
Congressman  Robinson  of  Chicopee.  Mr.  Robinson  ex- 
pressed his  gratification  at  being  present  on  such  a  pleas- 
ant occasion.  Born  at  Lexington,  he  had,  in  his  boyhood 
days,  walked  and  talked  with  the  men  of  '75,  and  the 
work  of  the  Fathers  was  therefore  of  especial  interest  to 
him.     Massachusetts,  he  said,  was  highly  favored  in  the 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  85 

character  of  its  judges,  who  were  all  honorable  and  up- 
right men.  Mr.  Robinson's  speech  was  attentively  lis- 
tened to,  and  he  made  a  very  favorable  impression  on  his 
hearers. 

Rev.  Dr.  E.  W.  Bentley,  of  Ellenville,  N.  Y.,  was  the 
next  speaker.  He  said  that  though  he  was  not  born 
in  Lee,  he  knew  nothing  till  he  came  here.  He  spoke 
of  the  changes  time  had  made  since  he  first  knew  the 
town,  and  of  some  of  the  old  residents  and  their  pecu- 
liarities. 

Emigrants  from  the  old  Hive. 

Rev.  Dr.  Ingersoll  of  Brooklyn,  in  responding  spoke  of 
the  feelings  of  the  returning  emigrants,  and  how,  wherever 
they  went,  they  never  forgot  the  old  home.  To  them,  as 
well  as  to  those  who  stay  at  home,  Lee  is  the  center  and 
all  the  rest  is  circumference.  Dr.  Ingersoll  was  intro- 
duced as  a  great  grandson  of  the  second  white  inhabitant 
that  settled  within  the  limits  of  this  town,  long  before 
its  incorporation,  and  of  whose  descendants,  three  genera- 
tions continue  here. 

Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Taylor,  the  next  speaker,  told  a  lot 
of  funny  stories  about  "  Uncle  Joe  Chadwick,"  who,  to 
him  was  "  a  bigger  man  than  Old  Grant,"  and  other  old 
citizens  whose  names  and  memory  had  been  recalled. 
He  kept  his  hearers  in  a  roar  of  laughter,  and  made  a 
capital,  unreportable  speech,  which  was  richly  enjoyed. 

Our  Adopted  Fellow  Citizens. 

To  this  sentiment,  J.  W.  Ferry  of  this  town  made  a 
capital  response.  He  had  an  advantage,  he  thought, 
over  the  natives  of  the  town,  inasmuch  as  he  became  a 
citizen  by  choice,  and  they,  by  accident.  He  came  to 
Lee  more  than  a  score  of  years  ago,  and  has  never  been 
sorry  that  he  stayed    here.     Nowhere   are  there  better 


86  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

associations  than  in  America,  nowhere  better  laws  or  a 
better  chance  to  help  make  them.  The  adopted  citizens 
of  the  land  can  be  relied  on  to  do  all  in  their  power  to 
maintain  the  republic.  In  closing,  he  said  he  wanted  to 
impress  upon  all  his  hearers  that  the  adopted  citizens  of 
the  United  States  were  determined  to  maintain  the  laws  and 
to  do  in  all  respects  as  well  as  if  born  on  the  soil.  Mr. 
Ferry's  speech  was  received  with  hearty  applause. 

The  author  of  the  following  verses,  H.  S.  Babcock,  Esq., 
of  Providence,  R.  I.,  was  prevented  by  business  engage- 
ments from  being  present  at  the  Centennial,  and  they 
were  read  at  the  dinner  table  by  Prof.  E.  H. Barlow  : 

T. 

The  god  of  day  leaps  from  his  rudely  bed 

To  guide  his  golden  chariot  through  the  sky  ; 
His  amber  locks  he  crowns  with  roses  red, 

Whose  blushes  stain  the  East  with  crimson  dye. 
His  watchful  eye  beholds  each  woody  height, 

Each  mountain  peak  clad  in  eternal  snow, 
Each  smiling  vale  in  gladsome  verdure  dight, 

Each  noble  river  wauling  still  and  slow, 
Each  spot  of  earth  where  beauty  reigns  a  queen 

And  rules  her  subjects  with  imperious  sway, — 
But  shows  to  none  more  gracious,  loving  mien, 

Than  where  we  see  his  favoring  smile  to-day. 

II. 
The  purple  mountains  rise  on  either  hand, 

A  frontier  guard  that  ever  watchful  keeps  ; 
A  gently  flowing  stream  divides  the  land, 

On  whose  green  banks  the  golden  sunshine  sleeps ; 
Ear  stretch  the  level  meads  whose  fruitful  soil 

Yields  bounteous  harvests  to  the  hand  of  care, 
Rewards  the  farmer  for  his  lengthened  toil, 

Of  garnered  wealth  makes  him  the  worthy  heir. 
There  rise  the  hill-sides  crowned  with  noble  trees, 

Where  oft,  too  oft,  the  choppers  axe  resounds, 
Whose  fatal  stroke,  borne  on  the  tell-tale  breeze, 

Makes  mournful  music  mid  the  sweeter  sounds. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  87 

And  there  the  busy  mill-wheel  constant  turns, 

The  faithful  servant  of  industrious  men  ; 
The  swarthy  furnace  brightly  glowing  burns 

And  yields  a  product  fit  for  poet's  pen. 

III. 

Adown  the  hill-sides  glide  the  murmuring  brooks, 

Whose  lapping  waters  lend  a  cooling  sound 
And  teach  far  better  than  old  musty  books 

That  all  the  earth  is  consecrated  ground. 
A  siren  sings  beneath  those  waters  sweet 

In  flute-like  tones  that  win  the  listening  ear  ; 
The  wavelets  dancing  at  your  weary  feet 

Give  back  the  song  in  music  silvery  clear. 
O'er-arching  trees  afford  you  grateful  shade, 

The  merry  breeze  laughs  in  their  waving  boughs, 
The  feathered  songsters  lend  their  voices'  aid, 

At  Nature's  shrine  you  pay  your  heartfelt  vows. 

IV. 
Your  feet  now  tread  the  well-kept  streets 

Where  reigned  the  silence  of  the  darkling  wood  ; 
Your  eyes  behold  the  thrifty  homes  of  men 

Where  once  the  cruel  Indian's  wigwam  stood ; 
Your  ears  drink  in  the  music  of  the  forge, 

The  rattle  of  the  mill,  the  engine's  scream, 
Where  once  the  savage  war-whoop  echoed  loud, 

The  welcome  answer  to  the  red  man's  dream. 
Peace  smiles  upon  this  highly  favored  land, 

And  Plenty  empties  out  her  bounteous  horn, 
Industry  lends  to  each  a  helping  hand. 

And  Love  and  Happiness  these  homes  adorn. 

V. 

And  this,  to-day,  is  Lee.     A  hundred  years 

Have  borne  a  golden  harvest  large  and  fair, 
We  reap  with  smiles  what  erst  was  sown  in  tears, 

In  joy  the  well-eared  sheaves  we  homeward  bear. 
And  this,  to-day,  is  Lee.     A  hundred  years 

Upon  her  brow  imperial  gently  rest, 
The  fathers  long  ago,  with  many  tears, 

Were  laid  to  sleep  upon  her  loving  breast. 


88  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Her  sons  and  daughters  live,  grow  old  and  die, 

But  she  knows  nol  the  meaning  of  old  age; 
Eternal  youth  laughs  in  her  glancing  eye, 

And  scorns  Time's  direful  threats  and  powerless  rage. 
And  this,  to-day,  is  Lee.     A  hundred  years 

Our  plant  has  grown  in  sunshine  and  in  shade, 
To-day  we  cull  the  blossom,  freed  from  fears. 

The  past  secure,  the  future  surely  made. 
Let  joy  prolong  this  gladsome  festal  day, 

The  crowning  blo.-som  of  a  century  past, 
While  over  all  Love  sheds  his  golden  ray 

And  makes  its  memory  brighten  to  the  last. 

Dr.  M.  M.  Frissell  of  Kingston,  N.  Y.,  spoke  pleas- 
antly of  the  great  benefit  he  was  to  the  town  during  his 
three  months'  stay  some  years  ago.  He  disseminated 
knowledge  among  the  people,  he  brought  them  into 
communication  with  distant  sections,  he  helped  the  manu- 
facturers to  large  sums  of  money,  he  knew  he  was  a 
public  benefactor — for  he  was  deputy  postmaster,  and  all 
the  mail  matter  of  the  village  passed  through  his  hands. 
He  spoke  of  the  recent  celebration  at  his  home,  and  of 
how  the  native  Dutchmen  had  found  it  necessary  to  call 
upon  the  Yankees  to  help  them  through  with  it. 

The  following  sentiment  was  then  offered  by  Amos  G. 
Hulbert,  who  prefaced  it  by  saying :  In  looking  over 
this  interesting  audience  I  see  many  on  whose  heads  the 
almond  tree  has  flourished,  and  to  those  I  offer  the  fol- 
lowing : 


The  Aged  who  have  borne  the  heat  of  the  day — Inpatience 
ye  your  souls.     Your  days  are  numbered  but  not  finished  ;  may  those 
that  remain  be  your  brightest  and  best. 

Gird  up  3'our  loins  with  all  your  might, 

And  keep  your  Christian  armor  bright, 

And  when  the  Master  calls,  fear  not  to  launch  away  ; 

The  dear  ones  on  the  other  side 

Are  more  than  are  here  to-day. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  89 

And  now  to  all,  to  you  I  say, 

As  this  Centennial  Day  on  earth  to  us  much  joy  hath  given ; 

With  joy  unspeakable  and.  pure, 

May  we  spend  the  next  in  Heaven. 

William  Hyde,  of  Ware,  was  called  upon  to  respond. 
He  spoke  of  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  town,  and  of 
the  old  times  and  customs.  He  showed  to  the  company 
several  interesting  relics,  among  others  his  mother's 
wedding  slippers  and  a  sermon  on  "  Regeneration," 
preached  by  his  father  in  1789. 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Lee  Band  was  moved,  in  be- 
half of  the  emigrants,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Ingersoll,  and,  after 
being  seconded  in  behalf  of  the  citizens  by  William 
Taylor,  was  heartily  adopted.  The  exercises  closed  at 
fifteen  minutes  before  six,  with  a  few  words  from  the 
President  of  the  Day  who,  for  the  town,  thanked  the 
returning  residents  for  their  attendance  and  trusted  they 
had  enjoyed  the  reunion — and  though  no  formal  response 
was  made,  it  was  easy  to  see  in  their  beaming  faces  that 
they  had. 

The  private  expression  of  the  returning  exiles  was 
unanimous  in  testifying  to  the  great  satisfaction  which 
the  occasion  had  given,  and  this  feeling  was  fully  recipro- 
cated on  the  part  of  the  citizens  of  Lee.  Old  friendships 
were  revived,  new  ones  formed,  family  ties  were  strength- 
ened, and  all  felt  that  it  was  good  once  more  to  meet 
in  the  church  and  around  a  common  table.  The  old 
town  was  universally  commended  as  having  made  great 
improvements  in  her  agriculture,  architecture,  roads, 
bridges,  schools,  churches  and  the  comforts  of  life  gene- 
rally, and  as  still  the  abode  of  peace,  plenty  and  right- 
eousness. 

12 


90  CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

INTERESTING  INCIDENTS  OF  CENTENNIAL  DAY. 

The  Congregational  Church  in  which  the  Centennial 
exercises  were  held,  wTas  decorated  by  the  ladies  with 
excellent  taste.  Flowers  and  evergreens  adorned  the 
altar  and  walls,  and  over  the  pulpit  was  an  evergreen 
scroll  with  this  inscription  in  large  evergreen  letters: 
"  1777  Welcome  1877."  On  the  right  of  the  pulpit  hung 
the  portrait  of  Dr.  Alvan  Hyde,  and  on  the  left  that  of 
Dr.  Nahum  Gale,  with  the  dates  of  their  long  pastorates. 

Conspicuous  among  the  decorations  in  the  village  was 
a  large  flag  suspended  over  Main  street,  and  bearing  the 
motto :  "  Lee  Welcomes  her  Children."  Another  large 
banner  floated  in  front  of  William  Taylor's  store.  F.  M. 
Pease's  store  and  residence  were  handsomely  draped  with 
bunting,  as  was  also  the  bank.  Wellington  Smith's  resi- 
dence was  noticeable  with  flags  at  every  projecting  point. 
Exchange  block  was  decked  with  a  profusion  of  small 
flags,  while  E.  Wright  &  Co.,  B.  H.  Taintor,  and  numer- 
ous others  along  the  street,  honored  the  day  with  a  liberal 
display. 

The  Centennial  was  ushered  in  at  East  Lee  by  a  rous- 
ing salute,  fired  from  the  old  Jackson  cannon,  that 
patriotic  old  veteran,  which,  since  the  days  of  Old  Hick- 
ory,  has  rendered  such  good  service,  and  never  failed  to 
belch  forth  its  rejoicings  on  every  anniversary  of  our  inde- 
pendence. Even  if  touched  by  no  human  hand,  the  old 
powder-blackened  war-dog  would,  we  almost  believe, 
have  blazed  away  of  itself  at  the  Centennial.  Thanks  to 
the  "  boys"  who  so  gallantly  manned  it. 

One  pleasant  feature  of  the  celebration  was  the  knowl- 
edge it  brought  to  many  of  distant  and  long-parted 
friends.  One  case  in  particular  is  worthy  of  notice  :  A 
Lee  lady  had  lost  all  trace  of  her  grandmother,  living 
somewhere  in  the  West,  but   where  she  did  not  know. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  91 

As  it  happened,  one  of  the  visitors  to  the  Centennial  came 
from  the  very  town  where  this  grandmother  lived,  and 
brought  to  the  granddaughter  the  first  tidings  she  had 
had  for  many  years  of  her  venerable  relative. 

Among  the  visitors  from  a  distance  was  Mrs.  Harriet 
Nesbett,  of  Elyria,  0.  Mrs.  Nesbett  is  youngest  of  the 
family  of  Maj.  William  Ingersoll,  Jr.,  who  left  Lee  in 
1816,  and  secured  homes  for  his  seven  sons  in  the  un- 
broken forest,  then  known  as  No.  4,  in  range  16,  of  the 
Western  Reserve,  or  "  New  Connecticut."  No  other 
representative  of  that  pioneer  family  was  present.  Mrs. 
Nesbett  is  also  the  youngest  granddaughter  of  William 
Ingersoll,  who  died  in  1815,  leaving  149  living  descend- 
ants. Of  that  large  number,  only  two  joined  in  the 
festivities  of  this  occasion — Mrs.  Nesbett  and  Jared  Inger- 
soll, of  Saratoga,  N.  Y. 

Among  the  old  residents  called  for,  but  who  were  not 
in  the  tent,  or  at  least  did  not  respond,  were  William 
Howk  and  Mr.  Whiting  of  Wellington,  0.,  and  Marshall 
Wilcox  of  Pittsfield. 

Though  the  rush  of  visitors  was  somewhat  greater  than 
had  been  expected,  yet  the  Committee  had  made  such 
ample  provisions  for  any  contingency,  that  many  more 
might  have  been  accommodated  if  necessary. 

The  attractiveness  of  the  dinner  was  greatly  enhanced 
by  the  white-aproned  young  men  and  coquettishly-capped 
young  ladies,  sons  and  daughters  of  citizens  who  had 
volunteered  as  waiters  upon  the  company.  They  thus 
exemplified  a  favorite  maxim  of  their  late  pastor,  Dr. 
Gale,  "  The  post  of  service  is  the  post  of  honor." 

The  town  appointed  a  large  force  of  special  policemen, 
but  there  was  little  for  them  to  do.  The  thousands 
thronging  the  streets  were  very  orderly  and  well-behaved, 
and  only  one  arrest  was  made,  and  he  a  stranger  in  the 
town. 


92  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Dr.  Andrews  and  Dr.  Bentley,  Centennial  visitors,  re- 
mained and  preached  at  the  Congregational  church  Sun- 
day, and  in  the  evening  the  pastor  gave  an  extra  Centen- 
nial sermon. 

It  was  a  good  joke  on  the  part  of  the  leader  of  the 
band,  while  the  guests  were  quietly  waiting  for  the  first 
course  at  the  Centennial  Dinner,  to  order  the  playing  of 
"  The  Sweet  By  and  By." 

Among  the  returning  old  residents  was  Oliver  West,  of 
Pittsfield,  Ohio,  who  left  Lee  in  1832,  and  in  all  these 
forty-five  years,  had  not  visited  his  old  home.  "  0,  how 
changed  ! "  was  his  exclamation,  as  he  stood  at  the  south 
door  of  Memorial  Hall  and  looked  at  the  beautiful  gem 
of  a  park  occupying  the  site  of  the  old  church  in  which 
he  used  to  worship,  the  Hall  itself  standing  near  where 
the  church  horse-sheds  once  stood.  When  he  was  a  lad 
the  name  of  West  was  common  in  Lee  ;  now,  not  one  is 
left  to  bear  up  the  once  honored  name.  He  desired  to 
be  quartered  among  the  old  neighbors  of  his  father,  the 
late  Joshua  West,  and  he  was  assigned  by  the  committee 
to  the  care  of  Mr.  J.  B.  Freeman,  and  among  the  farms 
and  families  of  that  vicinity  he  felt  more  at  home. 
Moral :  Old  residents  should  not  stay  away  so  long  if  they 
want  to  find  friends,  acquaintances  and  old  landmarks. 

Among  the  many  pleasing  incidents  of  the  Centennial 
were  the  reunions  of  families  long  and  widely  scattered. 
At  the  hospitable  home  of  Mr.  H.  Garfield,  were  gathered 
his  sisters,  Mrs.  Carey  from  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  Mrs. 
Waite  from  Chicago,  with  numerous  other  friends  and 
relatives  ;  no  brother,  however,  of  the  originally  large 
number  being  left  to  join  the  happy  circle.  At  Mr. 
A.  G.  Hulbert's  were  congregated,  besides  his  own  children 
and  grandchildren,  the  Ingersolls  and  Chamberlins,  a 
housefull,  and  all  hearts  overflowing  with  love  and  pleas- 
ant reminiscences.       At  Mr.   William  Taylor's,  were  his 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  93 

brothers  Charles,  Horace,  Edward  and  Frank,  accom- 
panied by  their  wives  and  one  sister,  Sophia  ;  the  health 
of  the  two  other  sisters,  Mrs.  Churchill  and  Mills,  not 
permitting  them  to  be  present.  At  the  old  parsonage  of 
Dr.  Hyde,  now  occupied  by  his  youngest  son,  Alexander, 
were  William  Hyde  of  Ware,  and  his  family,  Mrs.  Marsh 
of  New  York,  Dr.  Andrews  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  Dr.  Bentley 
of  Ellenville,  N.  Y.,  and  others.  Here  were  to  be  found 
four  generations,  reckoning  Mrs.  Hyde's  mother,  Mrs. 
Hull,  as  one.  The  latter,  a  lady  of  86  years,  entered 
into  the  occasion  as  heartily  as  any  one,  ascending  "  Fern 
Cliff"  to  hear  Professor  Barlow's  oration,  and  after  listen- 
ing to  the  address  of  Mr.  Chamberlin,  spending  the 
afternoon  of  Centennial  Day  in  the  tent,  that  she  might 
enjoy  the  flow  of  soul  in  the  post-prandial  feast.  At  the 
mansion  of  the  brothers,  E.  S.  and  S.  S.  May,  were  con- 
gregated a  large  circle  of  friends  and  relations,  including 
their  sons  from  New  York  ;  the  Parkers  from  Dunbarton, 
N.  H.,  and  the  Ingersolls  from  Ohio.  At  Mr.  Nathan 
Gibbs',  wTere  his  son  Edward  and  family  from  Norwich, 
Conn.,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Flint  from  Hinsdale,  Miss  Holder 
and  others. 

Much  regret  was  expressed  at  the  non-appearance  at  the 
Centennial  of  the  Hon.  Asahel  Foote,  of  Williamstown,  a 
septuagenarian  descendant  of  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Lee.  When,  during  the  previous  week  it  was  ascertained 
that  Mr.  Foote  was  not  expecting  to  be  present,  some  of 
his  friends  wrote,  urging  him  to  come.  The  following 
letter  explains  his  absence,  and  contains  so  many  pleasant 
reminiscences  of  the  Foote  family,  and  so  much  of  his- 
torical interest,  that  we  publish  it  entire  : 

Williamstown,  September  20,  1877. 
Dear  Sir: — On  the  8th  inst.,  I  took  my  week's  mail  from  the  post 
office,  and  not  anticipating  anything  more  from  that  quarter  for  a  few 
days,  and  being  still  under  the  influence  of  a  slight  bilious  attack,  by 


94  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

which  my  strength  had  been  considerably  reduced,  I  did  not  again 
visit  the  street  until  Tuesday,  the  12th,  when  I  was  surprised  to  find 
three  different  communications  from  Lee,  inviting  me  to  a  participa- 
tion in  the  social  feast  of  the  two  days  immediately  to  follow.  I  need 
not  undertake  to  tell  you  how  many  and  how  strong  and  immortal  are 
the  ties  that  bind  my  heart  to  the  place  of  my  birth ;  for  there  you, 
too,  can  visit  the  graves  of  the  mother  on  whose  bosom  you  nestled  in 
infancy,  of  the  father  who  guarded  and  guided  your  childhood,  of 
brothers  and  sisters  who  were  the  participants  of  all  the  joys  and  sor- 
rows of  your  early  years,  and  of  many  others  on  whose  graves  you 
could  not  help  but  drop  regretful  tears  when  they  were  laid  away  from 
your  sight  forever.  Though  54  years  have  kept  their  obliterating 
fingers  busily  at  work  since  I  was  a  resident  of  Lee,  my  memory  still 
travels  back  even  to  the  "great  total  eclipse"  of  1806,  (of  which  I 
have  yet  a  very  distinct  impression,)  and  often  entertains  me  with 
scenes  that  I  witnessed  myself  in  those  "former  days,"  and  with 
storied  events  that  had  transpired  on  the  same  ground  previous  to  my 
birth  ;  among  which  latter  I  might  mention  the  scene  of  the  bear 
attacking  and  destroying  a  large  porker  in  the  highway  running  east 
from  the  village,  at  a  point  nearly  opposite  the  burying-place  of  the 
first  occupant  of  the  Cemetery,  no  gun  being  procurable  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  the  blowing  of  horns  and  shells  being  insufficient  to 
frighten  him  from  his  prey.  The  killing  of  an  infuriated  bear  with  a 
knot  caught  up  after  the  attack,  on  the  southern  border  of  the  town, 
by  a  man  of  the  name  of  Hewlett;  whence  the  name  of  "  Beartown 
Mountain."  The  slaughter  of  124  rattlesnakes  on  the  southwest  slope 
of  Pixley  mountain,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  by  two  brothers  Ingersoll, 
who  were  in  quest  of  their  horses  to  take  the  family  to  church.  The 
battle  of  my  uncle  David  Foote  with  a  moose  of  the  largest  dimen- 
sions (I  used  to  see  his  immense  horns  in  my  early  childhood),  that 
attacked  him  (likewise  on  a  Sunday  morning,  and  while  hunting  up  his 
horses),  at  a  point  about  100  rods  east  of  T.  L.  Foote's  residence,  on 
a  stony  piece  of  ground,  thick  set  at  the  time  with  large  girdled  trees. 
During  the  contest,  the  enraged  animal  repeatedly  scaled,  with  ease,  a 
high  log  fence,  and  drove  the  assailed  party  from  tree  to  tree,  behind 
which  he  sought  refuge,  until  at  last  he  caught  one  of  his  fore  feet  fast 
between  two  logs  that  with  others  had  been  rolled  together  for  burn- 
ing. This  afforded  a  good  opportunity  for  the  effective  employment 
of  the  "hard  heads"  that  abounded  in  the  locality,  and  so  vigorously 
did  my  uncle  hurl  them  directly  at  the  animal's  forehead,  (he  had 
previously  used  the  same  weapons,  but  not  with  such  advantage,)  that 
when  after  a  time  the  foot  became  disengaged,  he  turned  to  the  east,  and 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  95 

walking,  with  difficulty,  as  far  as  "The  Hamlin  Spring,"  thence  drank 
his  fill,  and  tying  down  was  no  more  aide  to  rise.  So  he  hecame  my 
uncle's  trophy.  Ahout  the  same  period,  there  was  got  up  a  great  wolf- 
hunt ;  every  man  that  owned  a  gun  in  the  town  of  Lee,  Lenox  and 
Richmond  being  invited  to  put  in  an  appearance  at  a  given  point  in 
the  latter  town,  for  the  purpose  of  surrounding  a  certain  swamp,  (per- 
haps that  over  which  the  A.  and  B.  R.  R.  now  passes  on  an  under- 
ground embankment  seventy  feet  deep,)  where  several  wolves  that  had 
recently  made  great  havoc  with  the  little  flocks  in  the  vicinity,  had 
taken  shelter.  The  swamp  was  duly  surrounded  and  the  wolves 
dislodged,  but  not  taken.  The  sequel  of  course  was  a  great  wrestling- 
match,  in  which,  though  not  a  practiced  wrestler,  my  father  came 
off  champion.  In  the  primitive  days  of  Lee,  the  meal  consumed  by 
its  inhabitants  was  obtained  in  this  wise  (repeatedly  by  my  father, 
as  he  used  to  tell  me)  :  a  sack  of  corn,  as  large  as  could  be  thus  trans- 
ported, was  placed  across  a  horse's  back,  and  the  horse  led  by 
"  blazed  "  trees,  down  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic  to  a  mill  in  Connec- 
ticut, (I  cannot  name  the  town  with  certainty,)  some  thirty  miles 
distant ;  whence,  after  being  converted  into  "  breadstuff,"  it  (minus 
the  "  toll")  was  returned  in  like  manner,  to  the  anxious,  expectant 
family. 

The  Cave  in  "  The  Ledge,"  north-east  of  your  village,  may  still,  for 
aught  I  know,  be  visited  as  one  of  the  ancient  notorieties  of  Lee.  Here 
my  uncle  Fenner  Foote's  wife  (Sarah)  secreted  and  fed,  for  some 
time,  her  brother,  Peter  Wilcox,  who  was  one  of  the  Shays  refugees,  on 
whom  the  Government  wished  to  lay  its  hands.  A  brother  of  his  was 
slain  in  a  rencontre  between  the  two  parties,  somewhere  in  the 
town  of  Sheffield.  I  cannot  say,  without  referring  to  the  history  of 
the  times,  whether  he  was  not  the  only  man  slain  in  that  famous  war. 
One  more  Foote  anecdote,  and  I  will  "hush  up"  on  that  name.  In 
1770,  my  father  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  became  a  "soldier  of  the  Revo- 
lution," and  served,  at  two  different  enrollments,  an  aggregate  of 
twelve  months, — six  at  Schoharie  and  six  at  West  Point;  at 
which  latter  place  he  was  present  at  the  laying  of  the  "  great  chain" 
across  the  Hudson  to  stop  the  upward  progress  of  the  enemy's  ships. 
There  he  was  personally  reviewed  by  Washington.  At  the  close  of 
his  West  Point  campaign,  he  returned  home  on  horseback,  reaching 
Lee  in  the  middle  of  a  very  dark  night.  The  next  morning  there  was 
quite  a  sensation  produced  in  the  village  by  the  discovery  that  during 
the  night  a  horse  had  passed  over  the  Housatonic,  at  the  point  where 
the  bridge  now  stands,  (near  the  residence  of  Alexander  Hyde,  Esq.,) 
on   a  single   stringer.     The   bridge  had  been   taken   up  for   repairs. 


96  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 

Throe  stringers  had  been  placed  upon  the  abutments,  the  second  lying 
on  the  first,  and  the  third  by  the  side  of  the  latter.  On  this  third 
stringer,  my  father  had  safely  ridden  over  the  river,  in  entire  ignorance 
of  his  true  relations  to  the  watery  element  beneath  him, — certainly  a 
great  compliment  to  the  circumspection  of  his  horse.  I  must  say  one 
thing  more  about  the  Footes,  after  all,  and  that  is  that  my  uncle 
Fenner  Foote  was  also  a  Revolutionary  soldier ;  that  he  was  in  the 
terribly  bloody  battle  of  Stony  Point,  and  accompanied  Benedict 
Arnold  in  his  frightful  Winter  march  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  Both 
David  and  Fenner  Foote  reached  the  age  of  94  years. 

In  early  times,  the  mountains  on  the  east  and  north-east  of  Lee 
were  well  supplied  with  deer,  and  its  streams,  especially  those  which 
drained  the  Green-water  and  Goose  ponds,  were  abundantly  stocked 
with  trout.  I  have  heard  my  father  say  that  when  a  boy  he  could  at 
any  time  take  as  many  trout  from  this  "  great  brook,"  by  an  hour's 
angling  as  he  cared  to  trudge  home  with.  In  my  childhood  a  single 
specimen  was  taken  from  the  old  "Winegar  dam"  that  weighed  five 
pounds  ;  and  I  have  myself  seen  numbers  drawn  from  the  same  stream 
that  would  weigh  from  one  to  three  pounds. 

How  changed  the  physical  geography  of  Lee  from  what  it  was 
seventy-five  years  ago  !  The  revolution  in  the  manners  and  customs 
of  its  people  has  been  no  less  remarkable.  In  those  days,  shoes  and 
stockings  were  associated  almost  wholly  with  the  rigors  of  Winter — 
especially  so  far  as  the  young  people  were  concerned,  and  nothing  was 
more  common  than  to  see  well-to-do  people  wending  their  way  to 
church  on  the  Sabbath  bare-footed.  But  though  one  should  meet  a 
hundred  lads  and  lasses  passing  in  this  condition,  he  would  not  fail  to 
receive  from  each  one  of  them  a  respectful  bow  or  courtesy. 

In  dress  and  equipage  there  was  a  primeval  simplicity  little  dreamed 
of  by  the  present  generation.  Wool  and  tow  were  carded  and  flax 
hatcheled,  and  all  of  them  spun  into  yarn,  on  the  appropriate  wheels, 
and  afterwards  woven  into  cloth  by  the  female  members  (yes,  by  the 
ladies  /)  of  every  farm-house,  and  the  cloth  often  dyed,  too,  in  the 
domestic  dye-tub ;  and  when  the  fabrics  were  ready,  a  tailor,  or  tai- 
loress,  was  called  in  and  employed  by  the  day  to  furnish  the  household 
with  the  necessary  garments  for  the  season.  In  like  manner,  the 
"cordwainer"  (shoemaker)  was  called  in,  as  the  cold  season 
approached,  to  furnish  the  family  with  shoes  and  boots  from  the  hides, 
which  the  paterfamilias  had  taken  care  to  have  tanned  for  that 
purpose. 

As  to  modes  of  conveyance,  but  two  were  ordinarily  emplo}*ed  by 
the  common  people  ;  the  horse  with  a  saddle  for  one  rider,  and  a  saddle 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  97 

and  pillion  for  two.  A  full  load,  however,  commonly  consisted  of  a 
father  in  the  saddle,  a  mother  on  the  pillion,  and  the  youngest  child 
in  the  arms  of  the  latter.  The  second  mode  was  hy  means  of  a  one  or 
two-horse  lumber  wagon,  furnished  with  a  substantial  splint-bottomed, 
double  arm-chair  for  the  old  people,  and  the  requisite  number  of  good, 
nicely  planed  soft  boards,  laid  across  the  sides  of  the  wagon,  for  the 
juveniles.  Besides  these,  the  two-wheeled  shay  was  to  be  seen  occa- 
sionally ;  and  "  once  upon  a  time,"  a  cart  and  oxen  made  their  appear- 
ance before  Dr.  Hyde's  church  door,  on  a  Sabbath  morning,  and  to 
the  unbounded  astonishment  of  all  the  beholders,  was  then  and  there 
relieved  of  its  load,  consisting  of  a  mother  and  several  children,  by 
being  unkeyed  and  "  tipped  up,"  as  if  it  was  only  being  delivered  of  a 
load  of  pumpkins,  by  the  ungracious  husband  and  father,  who  took 
this  mode  of  punishing  his  family  for  the  sin  of  insisting  on  going  to 
a  religious  meeting.  The  name  of  this  "  lewd  fellow  of  the  baser  sort," 
was  Sam  Winegar,  (Vinegar  should  have  been  his  name,  to  correspond 
with  his  reputed  disposition,)  an  uncle  of  the  late  Zaccheus  Winegar, 
known  to  most  of  your  present  population. 

The  modes  of  lighting  and  warming  houses  in  those  early  times, 
(i.  e.,  dwelling-houses,  for  meeting-houses  were  not  warmed  at  all,) 
were  very  diverse  from  those  of  the  present  day,  "  tallow-dips"  being 
exclusively  used  for  the  former  purpose,  and  large,  open  "  fire-places," 
(with  chimneys  almost  as  large,  though  not  as  tall  as  our  factory 
"  stacks,")  capable  of  receiving  at  a  single  firing-up,  a  fair-sized  mod- 
ern wood-pile,  for  the  latter.  Often  have  I  seen  these  fire-places  fed 
with  logs  that  required  two  men  to  handle  them ;  and  often  have  I 
heard  how,  in. still  earlier  times,  the  big  beech  and  birch  and  maple 
logs  were  hauled  to  the  fire-places,  in  the  first  "log-houses,"  by  horse- 
power. 

Here,  I  "guess"  I  will  "haul  up."  When  I  penned  the  first  sen- 
tence in  this  communication,  my  simple  purpose  was  to  acknowledge 
the  receipt  of  your  very  kind  letter,  and  acquaint  you  with  the  reasons 
of  my  non-appearance  at  your  Centennial ;  but  my  thoughts  posted  off 
in  the  direction  which  you  see  they  have  taken,  and  I  just  let  them 
run — "  at  random,"  I  fear  you  will  be  tempted  to  add. 

As  to  my  failure  to  put  in  an  appearance  at  your  festival,  I  was,  in 
the  first  place,  in  such  a  state  of  health,  as  in  the  opinion  of  my 
family,  to  render  it  imprudent  for  me  to  leave  home  ;  and  in  the  second 
place,  my  water  supply  having  failed,  I  was  engaged,  with  several 
men  in  laying  a  new  water-pipe,  a  distance  of  sixty  rods — the  super- 
vision of  which  I  could  not  abandon. 

Most  sincerely  yours,  A.  Foote. 

13 


9S 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 


It  is  but  justice  to  the  Centennial  Committee  to  say,  in 
concluding  this  account  of  the  celebration,  that  their 
labors  were  indefatigable  to  make  the  occasion  one  of 
pleasure  and  profit,  and  one  that  would  redound  to  the 
credit  of  the  town.  Great  harmony  prevailed  in  all  their 
sessions,  which,  for  six  months  previous  to  the  Centennial, 
were  held  once  a  fortnight,  and  the  latter  part  of  the 
time  once  a  week,  and  sometimes  oftener.  Neither  time, 
labor  or  money  were  spared  to  ensure  success,  and  in  the 
results  they  feel  amply  compensated. 

The  reception  committee,  Messrs.  W.  J.  Bartlett,  C.  H. 
Sabin  and  J.  W.  Bassett,  kept  a  register  of  the  names 
of  the  former  residents  of  Lee,  and  of  the  husbands, 
wives  and  descendants  of  the  same,  who  returned  to  the 
Centennial,  with  parentage  and  present  place  of  residence. 
From  this  register  we  compile  the  following  list :  Possi- 
bly some  were  present  whose  names  failed  to  be  put  on 
the  register.  The  whole  number  registered  was  270,  of 
whom  the  following  is  a  list.  Parentage  not  given  when 
not  of  Lee  descent. 


NAMES. 

Allen,  Augustus 
Allen,  Mrs.  J.  A. 
Allen,  Mrs.  Ann  M. 
Ames,  Wm.  H. 
Ames,  Isabel  M. 
Ames,  John  H. 
Ames,  Wm.  H.  2d. 
Ames,  J.  H. 
Andrews,  J.  W. 
Avery,  W.  L. 
JBaldwin,  Wm.  C. 
Bancroft,  James 
Bancroft,  Minerva 
Barlow,  Elisha  H. 
Barlow,  Mrs.  E.  H. 
Barlow,  Annie  M. 
Barlow,  A.  H. 


PARENTAGE. 

J.  B.  Allen, 
Jones  Strickland, 
Moses  Culver, 

W.  H.  Ames, 
W.  H.  Ames, 
J.  H.  Ames, 
J.  H.  Ames, 


Wm.  H.  Baldw: 


Setli  Barlow, 

Seth  Barlow, 
Wm.  Barlow, 


PRESENT    RESIDENCE. 

Boston. 
Springfield. 
Boston. 
New  York. 
New  York. 
Stamford,  Conn. 
Stamford,  Conn. 
Stamford,  Conn. 
Marietta,  Ohio. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Falls  Village. 
East  Hartford. 
East  Hartford. 
Easton,  Pa. 
Easton,  Pa. 
Northampton. 
North  Adams. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBEATION. 


99 


NAMES. 

Barnes,  Edward  E. 
Barnes,  Mrs.  E.  E. 
Bartlett,  Harry  H. 
Bartlett,  Mrs.  B.  F. 
Bassett,  A.  H. 
Bassett,  Mrs.  A.  H. 
Bassett,  Joseph  H. 
Bassett,  Isaac 
Bassett,  Mrs.  Isaac 
Bassett,  Wm.  W. 
Beadle,  Mrs.  M.  R.  Y. 
Bentley,  E.  W. 
Bidwell,  Charlotte 
Beardsall,  Mrs.  B. 
Beardsall,  Cora 
Blake,  J.  W. 
Blake,  Mrs.  J.  W. 
Blake,  Wm.  E. 
Black,  Geo.  N. 
Birge,  Mrs. 
Birge,  Mr. 
Birge,  Miss 
Birge,  Miss 
Bond,  Wm.  B. 
Bond,  Mrs.  W.  B. 
Boss,  Mrs.  C.  D. 
Bradley,  Mrs.  H.  D. 
Bradley,  Cornelia 
Bradley,  Chauncy  B. 
Bradley,  William 
Buckley,  J.  C. 
Buckley,  G.  L. 
Burt,  G.  W. 
Burt,  Mrs.  G.  W. 
Burt,  Sarah  V. 
Burt,  Harry  P. 
Burt,  Mary  A. 
Brook,  William 
Brook,  Mrs.  Wm. 
Carey,  Mrs.  Lucy  G. 
Chamherlin,  Franklin 


PARENTAGE. 

Seymour, 

Hubhard  Bartlett, 
Rufus  Hewitt, 
Isaac  Bassett, 

Joseph  Bassett, 
Nathaniel  Bassett, 
Asahel  Foote, 
Isaac  Bassett, 
Cyrus  Yale, 
Wm.  Bentley, 


Wm.  Blake, 

Enoch  Cobb, 
J.  W.  Blake, 
William  Black, 
Bufus  Hewitt. 


Noah  Sheldon, 
J.  H.  Royce, 
Elisha  Dodge, 

Geo.  T.  Bradley, 
Wm.  Bradley, 
Geo.  C.  Buckley, 
Geo.  C.  Buckley, 

Geo.  H.  Phelps, 
G.  W.  Burt, 
G.  W.  Burt, 
G.  W.  Burt, 


Silas  Garfield, 
Joseph  Chamberlin, 


PRESENT    RESIDENCE. 

Great  Barrington. 
Great  Barrington. 
Norwalk,  Conn. 
Lenox. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Stockbridge. 
Stockbridge. 
Stockbridge. 
Burlington,  Vt. 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Ellenville,  N.  Y. 
Great  Barrington. 
Boonville,  N.  Y. 
Boonville,  N.  Y. 
Monterey. 
Monterey. 
Monterey. 
Springfield,  111. 
Torringford,  Conn. 
Torringford,  Conn. 
Torringford,  Conn. 
Torringford,  Conn. 
New  Braintree. 
New  Braintree. 
New  London,  Conn. 
Stockbridge. 
Stockbridge. 
Stockbridge. 
Wellington,  Ohio. 
Cbicopee. 
Hol}Toke. 
Clayville,  N.  Y. 
Clayville,  N.  Y. 
Clayville,  N.  Y. 
Clayville,  N.  Y 
Clayville,  N.  Y. 
North  Adams. 
North  Adams. 
Keokuk,  Iowa. 
Hartford,  Conn. 


100 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 


NAMES. 

Chamberlin,  Mrs.  F. 
Chamberlin,  J.  P. 
Chase,  Mrs.  J.  L. 
Cobb,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Comstock,  8.  W. 
Comstoek.  Mrs.  S.  W. 
Conant,  C.  L. 
Condit,  J.  W. 
Condit,  Mrs.  J.  W. 
Condit,  Jennie  W. 
Crosby,  Cyrus 
Culver,  John  F. 
Culver,  Mrs.  J.  F. 
Culver,  Charles 
Culver,  Walter, 
Crane,  Mrs.  Z.  M. 
Clark,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  P. 
Cranston,  Wm.  H. 
Cranston,  Mrs.  W.  H. 
Cone,  Samuel 
Day,  Mrs.  Alma 
Drake,  Mrs.  Lucy  T. 
Drew,  J.  H. 
Drew,  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Drew,  E.  Bassett, 
Dresser,  Chas.  E. 
Doane,  Mrs.  Harriet  T. 
Flint,  Ephraim 
Fairchild,  Mrs.  A.  W. 
Fessenden,  Stephen 
Foote,  Edward 
Foote,  Mrs.  Edward 
Ford,  Michael 
Ford.  Michael  W. 
Fraleigh,  Mrs.  Addie 
Fraleigh,  Gilbert 
Fuller,  J.  W. 
Freeman,  E.  P. 
Freeman,  Mrs.  E.  P. 
Frissell,  M.  M. 
FrisselL  Mrs.  M.  M. 


T A  RENTAGE. 

Wm.  Porter, 
Joseph  Chamberlin, 
W.  It.  Brown, 


I.  M.  Taylor, 


Stephen  Bradley, 
J.  W.  Condit, 
Abner  Crosby, 
Wm.  L.  Culver, 

J.  F.  Culver, 
J.  F.  Culver, 
Winthrop  Laflin, 
James  Pierce. 


Gilbert  Cone, 
Erastus  Hall, 
Rowland  Thatcher, 

Wm.  Ingersoll, 
J.  H.  Drew, 
David  Dresser, 
Nathaniel  Tobey, 

Wm.  A.  Stone, 


PRESENT    RESIDENCE. 

Hartford,  Conn. 
Unionville,  Conn. 
Dal  ton. 
North  Adams. 
Stockhridge. 
Stockbridge. 
Saint  Louis.  Mo. 
Orange,  N.  J. 
Orange,  N.  J. 
Orange,  N.  J. 
Monterey. 
Ellington,  Conn. 
Ellington,  Conn. 
Ellington,  Conn. 
Ellington,  Conn. 
Dalton. 
Springfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Northampton. 
Northamjiton. 
Ogden,  N.  Y. 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 
Leominster. 
New  Bedford. 
Hinsdale. 
South  Hadley  Falls 


Cornelius  T.  Fessenden,Genoa,  N.  Y. 


Lyman  Foote, 


Michael  Ford, 


Benjamin  Fuller, 
Elisha  Freeman, 
Isaac  Ball, 

Henry  Smith, 


Boston. 

Boston. 

Becket. 

Becket. 

Pine  Plains,  N.  Y. 

Pine  Plains,  N.  Y. 

Pittsfield. 

New  York. 

New  York. 

Kingston,  N.  Y. 

Kingston,  N.  Y. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 


101 


NAMES. 

Gould,  Mrs.  Mary 
Gould,  Edwin  T. 
Gibbs,  Edward  N. 
Gibbs,  Mrs.  E.  N. 
Gibbs,  Herbert  E. 
Gibbs,  Mrs.  H.  B. 
Graves,  Miles  W. 
Graves,  Mrs.  A.  E. 
Hale,  Henry 
Hale,  Mrs.  H. 
Hazen,  Mrs.  S.  A. 
Hess,  Amil 
Hess,  John  E. 
Heebner,  Chas.  F. 
Heath,  L.  E. 
Heath,  Mrs.  L.  E. 
Houghton,  Eose 
Hollister,  Mrs.  Frank 
Hollister,  Nellie 
Howk,  Wm. 
Howk,  Eli  B. 
Howlancl,  Harry 
Howland,  Mrs.  H. 
Hinckley,  L.  T. 
Hubbard,  E.  A. 
Hubbard,  Mrs.  E.  A. 
Howard,  Mrs.  Samuel 
Hunter,  Emma 
Hill,  Frank  W. 
Hill,  Mary  J. 
Hulbert,  Lewis 
Hulbert,  H.  C. 
Hulbert,  Mrs.  H.  C. 
Hulbert,  Susie  C. 
Hulbert,  Carrie  B. 
Hull,  J.  B. 
Hull,  Mrs.  J.  B. 
Hyde,  William 
Hyde,  Mrs.  W. 
Hyde,  Hattie  S. 
Hyde,  Susie  B. 


PARENTAGE. 

Isaac  M.  Taylor, 

Nathan  Gibbs, 

Franklin  W.  Gibbs, 

Seth  D.  Graves, 
Timothy  Thatcher, 

Anthony  Goodspeed, 
Isaac  C.  Ives, 
Ferdinand  Hess, 
Amil  Hess, 
Edmund  Heebner, 

Benjamin  Osborn, 
Thomas  Houghton, 
Joseph  Bassett, 
Frank  Hollister, 
John  Howk, 
David  Howk, 
James  Howland, 

Benjamin  Hinckley, 


C.  B.  Nye, 
Eobert  Hunter, 
Wm.  H.  Hill, 

Nathan  Hulbert, 
A.  G.  Hulbert, 
Wm.  Porter, 
H.C.  Hulbert, 
H.  C.  Hulbert, 

E.  P.  Tanner, 
Alvan  Hyde, 

Wm.  Hyde, 
W.  S.  Hyde, 


PRESENT    RESIDENCK. 

Stockbridge. 

Stockbridge. 

Norwich,  Conn. 

Norwich,  Conn. 

Cambridge. 

Cambridge. 

Hartford,  Conn. 

Hartford,  Conn. 

Pittsfield. 

Pittsfield. 

Goshen,  Conn. 

Enfield,  Conn. 

Enfield,  Conn. 

South  Hadley  Falls 

Tyringham. 

Tyringham. 

New  Marlboro. 

Wilbraham. 

Wilbraham. 

Wellington,  Ohio. 

Wellington,  Ohio. 

Dalton. 

Dalton. 

Stockbridge. 

Springfield. 

Springfield. 

Springfield. 

Huntington. 

Pittsfield. 

Pittsfield. 

Windsor,  N.  Y. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Stockbridge. 

Stockbridge. 

Ware. 

Ware. 

Ware. 

Ware. 


102 


centp:nnial  celebration. 


i-  \i;|-,\tai;k. 


Ingersoll,  Mrs.  S.  B. 
Ingersoll,  Mrs.  E.  B 
Ingersoll,  E.  P. 
Ingersoll,  Jared 
Ingersoll,  Mrs.  J. 
Ives,  Henry 
Ives,  Mrs.  H. 
Ives,  Henry  C. 
Ives,  Sarah  L. 
Johnson,  Alonzo  S. 
Johnson, 
Johnson, 
Johnson,  James 
Johnson,  Mrs.  J. 
Johnson,  Mrs. 
Kidd,  E. 
Manley,  A.  B. 
Markham,  Miss  A.  J. 
Markham,  Mrs.  M. 
Markham,  Mrs.  Charles 


Ansel  Bassett, 
Wm.  Ball, 
Wm.  Ingersoll, 
Jared  Ingersoll, 
Stephen  Thatcher, 
Isaac  C.  Ives, 
Josiah  Yale, 
Henry  Ives, 
Henry  Ives, 
J.  W.  Johnson, 


Timothy  Johnson, 


Anthony  Goodspeed, 


Merrill,  Edgar  S.  John  S.  Merrill, 

Merrill,  Mrs.  E.  S. 

Merrill,  William,  Frank  Merrill, 

Merrill,  Mrs.  Wm.  M. 

Merrill,  Harry  Wm.  M.  Merrill, 

McClaren,  Mrs.  S.  John  Bickley, 

McClaren,  J.  G. 

McClaren,  Ida 

Marsh,  Mrs.  E.  H.         Alexander  Hyde, 

May,  Mary  S. 

May,  Chas.  E.  S.  May, 

May,  S.  S.  Jr.  S.S.May, 

Murray,  Wm.  H. 

Murray,  Mrs.  W.  H.      Horace  Hatch, 

Murray,  Ella  W.  H.  Murray, 

Miller,  Mrs.  Lewis         Bufus  Hewitt, 

Moore,  Thorn 's  .1. 

Moore,  Mrs.  T.  J.  Patrick  Tullv. 

Nesbitt,  Mrs.  Harriet  J.  Wm.  Ingersoll, 

Nettleton,  L.  J. 

Northrop,  L. 


PRESENT   RESIDENCE. 

Oberlin,  Ohio. 
Grafton,  Ohio. 
Brooklyn,'  N.  Y. 
Saratoga,  N.  Y. 
Saratoga,  N.  Y. 
Now  Milford,  Conn. 
New  Milford,  Conn. 
New  Milford,  Conn. 
New  Milford,  Conn. 
West  Springfield. 
Westfield. 
Westfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Springfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Suffield,  Conn. 
Suffield,  Conn. 
Great  Barrington. 
Berkshire,  N.  Y. 
Berkshire,  N.  Y. 
North  Adams. 
North  Adams. 
North  Adams. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Whately. 
New  York. 
New  York. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
PittsHeld. 
Torringford,  Conn. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Elyria,  Ohio. 
Great  Barrington. 
New  Milford,  Conn. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 


103 


NAMES. 

PARENTAGE. 

PRESENT   RESIDENCE. 

Northrop,  Mrs.  L. 

J.  L.  Drake, 

New  Milford,  Conn. 

Northrop,  Carrie 

L.  Northrop, 

New  Milford,  Conn. 

Parker,  Dan'l  H. 

Punbarton,  N.  H. 

Parker,  Mrs.  D.  H. 

Ansel  Bassett, 

Dunbarton,  N.  H. 

Peck,  Gilbert  H. 

Bloomfield,  N.  J. 

Peck,  Mrs.  G.  H. 

Cornelius  Barlow, 

Bloomfield,  N.  J. 

Peck,  Chs.  0. 

G.  H.  Peck, 

Bloomfield,  N.  J. 

Phelps,  G.  A. 

G.  H.  Phelps, 

Great  Barrington. 

Phelps,  Mrs.  G.  A. 

Great  Barrington. 

Phelps,  Helen 

G.  A.  Phelps, 

Great  Barrington. 

Pinney,  Mrs.  Frances 

Wm.  H.  Brown, 

Winsted,  Conn. 

Platner,  Win. 

Newark,  N.  J. 

Platner,  Mrs.  Wm. 

Sam'l  Ball, 

Newark,  N.  J. 

Porter,  Mrs.  Wm. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Pitkin,  Mrs.  Lucy  T.  Y 

'.  Cyrus  Yale, 

Philadelphia. 

Richards,  Mrs.  K.  C. 

Winthrop  Laflin, 

Dalton. 

Eoberts,  Mrs.  Abby  J 

.  Wm.  Ingersoll, 

Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

Eoss,  Chas.  E. 

Luther  Ross, 

Chicago,  111. 

Ross,  Geo.  A. 

Luther  Ross, 

Chicago,  111. 

Royce,  J.  A. 

Lanesboro. 

Royce,  Mrs.  J.  A. 

Lanesboro. 

Royce,  Rubert  S. 

J.  A.  Royce, 

Lanesboro. 

Royce,  Jesse 

J.  A.  Royce, 

Lanesboro. 

Remann, 

Wm.  Black, 

Springfield,  111. 

Rice,  Isabel 

Rockville,  Ct. 

Sabin,  Jno.  F. 

Henry  Sabin, 

Great  Barrington. 

Sabin,  Mrs.  J.  F. 

Great  Barrington. 

Sexton,  Edson 

Timothy  Sexton, 

Great  Barrington. 

Sarle,  J.  F. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Sarle,  Mrs.  J.  F. 

Wm.  Cone, 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Sarle,  Jennie  B. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Sexton,  Lottie 

Isaac  Bassett, 

Kendall,  111. 

Sexton,  Charles 

Kendall,  111. 

Smith,  Mrs.  John 

Kingston,  N.  Y. 

Smith,  Kitty 

John  Smith, 

Kingston,  N.  Y. 

Spaulding,  J.  R. 

Pittsfield. 

Steele,  Francis 

Evelin, 

Honesdale,  Pa. 

Steele,  Clara 

Evelin, 

Honesdale,  Pa. 

Sprague,  Wm. 

Pittsfield. 

Sprague,  Alida 

Anthony  Goodspeed, 

Pittsfield. 

Sumner,  Jno.  J. 

Great  Barrington. 

104 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 


NAMES. 

Suinner,  Mrs.  J.  J. 
Sturges,  Henry 
Sturges,  Mrs.  Henry 
Strong,  F.  W. 
Strong,  Mrs.  F.  W. 
Sexton,  Emeline  M. 
Stevens,  Mrs.  Edward 
Stevens,  E.  E. 
Starr,  Watson 
Starr,  Sarah  B. 
Taylor,  Horace 
Taylor,  Mrs.  Horace 
Taylor,  Charles 
Taylor,  Edward 
Taylor,  Sophia 
Taylor,  F.  G. 
Taylor,  Mrs.  F.  Gr. 
Taylor,  Emma 
Thomas,Mrs.Mahahi  B. 
Tyler,  D.  W. 
Tyler,  Mrs.  D.  W. 
Tuttle,  Chauncey 
Tuttle,  Ira  N. 
Tuttle,  Frank  W. 
Tuttle,  Fred  B. 
Tyrrell,  Horace 
Tyrrell,  Mrs.  Melissa 
Videto,  Chas.  J. 
Videto,  Mrs.  C.  J. 
Van  Bergan,  Mrs.  G. 
Waite,  Mrs.  Jane  E. 
Wickes,  Mrs.  Loretta 
West,  Oliver 
West,  Mrs.  Oliver 
Way,  Mrs.  Jane 
West,  N.  B. 
West,  Mrs.  N.  B. 
Wilcox,  Marshall 
Wilcox,  Mrs.  M. 
Warren,  Joseph 
Warren,  Mrs.  J. 


•ABENTAGE. 


Thomas  Sturges, 


E.  Parker, 

Josiah  Yale, 
Edward  Stevens, 
Win.  Bradley, 
Wm.  Bradley, 
Abner  Taylor, 

Abner  Taylor, 
Abner  Taylor, 
Abner  Taylor, 
Abner  Taylor, 


Stephen  Fessenden, 

James  Brown, 
Jonathan  Tuttle, 
Chauncey  Tuttle, 
Ira  N.  Tuttle, 
Ira  N.  Tuttle, 

Asa  Gleason, 

Abijah  Merrill, 
Sam'l  Clarke, 
Silas  Garfield, 
D.  B.  Whiton, 
Joshua  West, 

Lewis  Beach, 
Timothy  West, 


Wm.  Bradley, 
Pientiss  Chaffee, 


PRESENT   RESIDENCE. 

Great  Barrington. 
Dalton. 
Dalton. 
Hinsdale. 
Hinsdale. 
Hartford,  Conn. 
Saratoga,  N.  Y. 
Saratoga,  N.  Y. 
Penfield,  Ohio. 
Penfield,  Ohio. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Englewood,  N.  Y. 
Binghamton,  N.  Y. 
New  York. 
Newark,  N.  J. 
Newark,  N.  J. 
New  York. 
Genoa,  N.  Y. 
Dalton. 
Dalton. 

New  Marlboro. 
New  Marlboro. 
New  Marlboro. 
New  Marlboro. 
New  Boston. 
New  Boston. 
Tyringham. 
Tyringham. 
Pittsfield. 
Chicago,  111. 
Troy,  N.  Y. 
Pittsfield,  Ohio. 
Pittsfield,  Ohio. 
Suffield,  Conn. 
Allegan,  Mich. 
Allegan,  Mich. 
Pittsfield. 
Pittsfield. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 


105 


NAMES. 

Whiton,  Walter 
Whiton,  Loomis 
Wood,  George 
Wood,  Mrs.  G. 
Whiting,  Isabella  G. 
Wordin,  William 
Wordin,  Mrs.  Wm. 
Yale,  Josiah 
Youngs,  Mrs.  S.  A. 
14 


PARENTAGE. 

Milo  Whiton, 
J'no.  M.  Whiton, 

David  Baker, 


Wm.  Ingersoll, 
Josiah  Yale, 
Seth  Handy, 


PRESENT    RESIDENCE. 

Troy,  K  Y. 
Wellington,  Ohio. 
Sandisfield. 
Sandisfield. 
Great  Barrington. 
Ridgeville,  Ohio. 
Ridgeville,  Ohio. 
Saratoga. 
Stochbridsre. 


PART  II. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  LEE 


PREFATORY   NOTE. 


It  was  the  original  intention  of  the  Committee  that  the 
Centennial  Address  should  present  in  a  popular  form  an 
Outline  History  of  the  town.  The  time  allotted  to  the 
speaker  on  the  anniversary  day  would  allow  him  to  pre- 
sent only  the  prominent  characteristics  of  each  period, 
and  the  points  of  greatest  personal  interest.  The  follow- 
ing notes  were  gathered  by  Dr.  Charles  M.  Hyde,  as  the 
surveyor  jots  down  in  his  field-book  the  memoranda  from 
which  he  afterwards  constructs  his  plat  of  the  survey. 
They  are  intended  to  be  full  and  accurate  statements  of 
all  facts  of  general  interest  in  the  growth  and  progress  of 
the  town  for  the  first  century  of  its  history.  More  like 
an  artist's  sketches  than  an  elaborately  finished  picture, 
they  are  of  practical  value  for  reference  in  the  form  in 
which  they  are  now  presented,  if  not  so  attractive  and 
interesting  as  if  they  could  have  been  presented  with  a 
rhetorician's  skill  and  an  orator's  fervor.  After  Dr. 
Hyde's  appointment  as  President  of  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Honolulu,  which  necessitated  his  departure 
from  the  country  before  the  time  appointed  for  the  Cen- 
tennial Celebration,  he  put  into  the  hands  of  the  Com- 
mittee the  notes  that  he  had  made,  that  the  Orator  chosen 
in  his  place  might  have  the  benefit  of  his  historical 
researches.  Though  arranged  substantially  as  now  pre- 
sented, some  topics  were  not  fully  treated.  The  Com- 
mittee therefore  requested  Alexander  Hyde  to  complete 
and  prepare  these  notes  for  publication,  particularly  the 
ecclesiastical    and    industrial    history    of    the  town,    and 


110  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

biographical  sketches,  for  which  Dr.  Hyde  had  had  time 
to  collect  only  a  few  memoranda.  In  the  preparation  of 
the  notes,  free  use  was  made  of  the  sketch  of  Lee  written 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Alvan  Hyde  for  Dr.  Field's  History  of  Berk- 
shire County,  published  in  1829  :  Rev.  Amory  Gale's  His- 
tory of  Lee,  an  address  delivered  before  the  Young  Men's 
Association,  March  22,  1854,  and  published  at  that  time: 
Rev.  Dr.  Nahum  Gale's  address  at  the  laying  of  the  cor- 
ner stone  of  the  Congregational  Church,  July  21,  1857 : 
and  his  Historical  Address,  delivered  at  the  Semi-Centen- 
nial Celebration  of  the  Sunday-school,  December  23, 
1869:  the  files  of  the  Berkshire  County  Eagle,  and  of 
the  Valley  Gleaner,  published  respectively  at  Pittsfield 
and  at  Lee,  have  been  examined ;  and  besides  the  records 
in  the  Town  Clerk's  office,  those  in  the  Register's  office 
at  Great  Barrington,  Pittsfield  and  Springfield,  as  well  as 
the  documents  on  file  in  the  State  House  at  Boston,  have 
been  consulted  and  copied.  For  the  report  of  the  dinner 
speeches  on  Centennial  Day,  credit  must  be  given  mainly 
to  the  Valley  Gleaner.  It  was  the  original  design  to  add 
fuller  notices  of  some  of  the  early  settlers  and  distin- 
guished citizens,  than  can  be  given  in  current  history ; 
but  after  collecting  many  facts  and  data  for  these  biogra- 
phies, it  was  found  that  they  would  swell  the  work  to  a 
large  size,  especially  as  when  once  started  in  this  direc- 
tion, the  historian  would  not  know  where  to  stop. 


Topographical,  Scenograpkical,  Geological,  Etc. 


Rev.  Dr.  Alt  an  Hyde  wrote  for  Field's  History  of 
Berkshire  County,  the  following  description  of  the  town  : 

"  The  town  is  six  miles  in  length  and  five  in  breadth, 
and  presents  a  very  diversified  appearance.  It  forms  a 
part  of  the  interval  which  lies  between  the  Taconic  and 
Green  Mountain  ranges.  The  Green  Mountain  range, 
which  rises  to  a  moderate  elevation,  runs  partly  within 
the  eastern  limits  of  the  town,  presenting  a  very  pictur- 
esque appearance.  These  mountains  are  for  the  most 
part  of  gentle  acclivity,  and  are  cultivated  in  some  places 
quite  to  their  summits.  From  the  base  of  these  moun- 
tains, the  surface  is  rather  uneven,  occasionally  rising  into 
hills  of  considerable  height,  but  generally  descending 
until  it  reaches  the  plain  upon  the  banks  of  the  Housa- 
tonic."  West  of  this  river,  the  land  is  everywhere 
undulating  in  its  appearance,  inclining  towards  the  south. 
Beartown  Mountain  is  a  large  and  grand  pile  of  hills  on 
the  south-east  of  Stockbridge,  north-east  of  Great  Bar- 
rington,  forming  the  North-west  part  of  Tyringham,  and 
the  south-west  part  of  Lee.  Deerhorn  Corner,  the  name 
given  to  the  point  at  the  angle  of  the  two  town  lines,  is 
so  called  from  the  fact  that  a  deer's  horn  was  fastened 
here  to  mark  the  spot. 

Washington  Mountain,  chiefly  in  Washington,  extends 
south  to  Lee,  and  forms  the  east  boundary  of  the  Housa- 
tonic  valley  for  several  miles.  East  Mountain  extends 
into  and  from  Becket  on  the  east  side  of  the  town. 

The  Housatonic  river  divides  the  town  into  two  nearly 


112  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

equal  parts.  Its  course  is  southerly  where  it  first  enters 
the  town,  but  before  reaching  South  Lee  it  turns  sharply 
to  the  West.  At  this  place  it  is  831  feet  above  tide  water 
at  Derby,  Conn.  In  its  passage  through  the  town  the 
Housatonic  receives  the  waters  of  Laurel  Lake,  formerly 
called  Scott's  Pond.  The  outlet  of  this  lake  empties  into 
the  river  at  the  North  end  of  the  village.  Two  streams 
come  down  from  Washington  Mountain  and  empty  into 
the  Housatonic  near  Bradley  street. 

Through  Cape  street,  flows  the  outlet  of  Green  Water 
Pond  in  Becket,  which  unites  in  Water  street,  with  the 
outlet  of  Lake  May  and  Long  Pond,  two  natural  reser- 
voirs artificially  increased,  lying  partly  in  Lee,  and  partly 
in  Tyringham.  These  two  streams  both  before  and  after 
their  union,  furnish  power  for  numerous  mills. 

Hop  Brook'  flows  down  from  Tyringham,  and  was  so 
named  from  the  abundance  of  wild  hops  in  the  low  land 
through  which  it  flowed.  Smaller  streams  generally  bear 
the  name  of  the  owners  of  the  land  through  which  they 
flow,  with  every  change  of  owners  changing  also  their 
names. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  the  town,  such  wild  animals 
as  the  bear,  the  wolf,  and  the  deer,  were  occasionally  seen. 
Some  young  men  coming  home  from  church  saw  a  moose 
at  the  spring  near  Cornelius  Hamblin's.  In  going  through 
the  woods  at  night,  it  was  customary  to  carry  torches  to 
scare  away  the  wolves.  When  one  of  the  early  settlers, 
one  morning,  looked  out  of  his  log-house  to  the  new  frame 
the  carpenters  had  put  up,  he  was  startled  to  see  a 
bear  eyeing  him,  deliberately  standing  on  his  haunches. 
Before  he  could  get  his  gun  and  take  a  sight  at  the 
bear,  bruin  had  disappeared.  Uncle  Joel  Bradley  would 
tell  many  bear  stories ;  for  along  the  hills  these  huge 
creatures  had  their  dens,  and  gave  great  trouble  to  the 
first  settlers  by  the  havoc  they  made  in  the  corn  field. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  113 

Lemuel  Crocker  is  said  to  have  suddenly  met  a  bear, 
and  killed  him  with  no  better  weapon  than  a  knot  of 
wood. 

The  birds  are  such  as  are  commonly  found  in  Western 
Massachusetts,  and  the  similar  statement  may  be  made  in 
regard  to  the  insects,  reptiles,  and  fish.  When  the  first 
survey  was  made  of  what  is  now  Bradley  street,  the  pur- 
chasers were  told  that  they  need  not  fear  that  they 
would  suffer  from  any  want  of  meat;  the  brooks  were 
full  of  trout  that  would  furnish  ample  supply  the  whole 
year  round.  The  fisherman  of  these  days  finds  these 
brooks  pretty  much  dry  in  Summer,  and  the  trout  few  in 
number  and  small  in  size. 

Prof.  Dewey  gave  in  Dr.  Field's  History  of  Berkshire 
County,  a  list  of  various  wild  plants,  that  have  their 
habitat  in  this  region,  together  with  the  dates  of  their 
inflorescence.  It  is  hoped  that  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  the  pupils  of  the  Lee  High  School  will  have  made 
out  a  complete  list  of  the  rare  plants  to  be  found,  and  the 
localities  where  the  lover  of  Botany  may  find  them. 
This  whole  region  was  well-timbered,  and  the  early  set- 
tlers had  great  trouble  in  disposing  of  the  abundant  sup- 
ply of  wood.  Much  of  it  was  made  into  charcoal :  much 
burned  in  rude  tar  kilns;  the  hardier  varieties,  birch, 
beech,  maple,  were  made  into  chair  stuff.  As  manufac- 
turing increased,  the  forests  were  leveled  to  furnish  fuel 
for  the  paper  mills,  and  steam  for  drying  paper  and  driv- 
ing machinery.  Since  the  introduction  of  coal  as  fuel, 
both  into  mills  and  private  houses,  the  amount  of  wood- 
land has  increased.  By  nature's  rotation  of  crops,  white 
pines  are  taking  the  place  of  maples  and  other  hard 
woods,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  climate  of  this  region 
will  be  ameliorated  by  their  influence. 
15 


314  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

GEOLOGY    AND   MINERALOGY. 

The  mountains  on  the  east  of  the  town  are  of  mica 
slate.  Two  or  three  eminences  of  quartz  rock  in  the 
valley  project  their  ragged  elevations.  ''Fern  Cliff"  has 
quartz  rocks  at  the  base,  (not  auriferous,)  and  gneiss  on 
the  summit,  in  which  are  frequent  crystals  of  iron  pyrites. 
In  the  slaty  rocks  above  the  quartz,  are  numerous  tourma- 
line crystals.  But  limestone  is  the  principal  rock  to  be 
found  rising  from  the  low-land.  If  it  will  not  take  a 
polish,  it  is  not  fit  for  use  as  marble,  nor  is  it  fit  for  cut- 
ting if  it  contains  fibrous  and  bladed  crystals  of  tremolite, 
such  as  are  to  be  found  south-west  of  Gross'  quarry.  In 
Hitchcock's  Geology  of  Massachusetts,  is  a  detailed  de- 
scription of  the  geological  strata  of  this  County,  and  a 
figure  is  given,  illustrating  Dr.  Hitchcock's  theory  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  strata  have  been  distorted  between 
the  Hudson  and  the  Connecticut  by  upheavals.  Erosion 
next  removed  the  softer  parts  and  gave  the  present 
topographical  outline.  In  Lyell's  Antiquity  of  Man,  is  a 
sketch  of  the  courses  of  erratic  boulders  traced  from 
Canaan,  N.  Y.,  across  the  ranges  of  hills  south-east  to  the 
Housatonic  valley. 

Limestone  is  readily  obtained  in  various  parts  of  the 
town.  Much  that  is  not  valuable  as  building  material,  is 
suitable  for  making  lime,  and  the  production  of  lime  has 
ever  been  one  of  the  industries  of  the  place.  In  former 
times,  the  limestone  was  burned  in  temporary  kilns,  and 
when  a  kiln  was  burned  the  fire  was  permitted  to  go  out. 
Remains  of  these  old  kilns  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the 
town,  and  as  no  lime  is  known  to  have  been  exported  in 
the  early  times,  it  is  supposed  that  lime  was  burned  as  it 
was  wanted  by  an  individual  or  a  neighborhood.  About 
the  year  1840,  Wm.  L.  Culver  commenced  burning  lime 
in  a  patent  self-feeding  kiln,  the  fire  of  which  is  kept 
burning  for  months,  the  limestone  being  put  in  at  the  top 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  ]15 

of  a  chimney  lined  with  fire-brick,  and  the  lime  taken  out 
at  the  bottom  as  fast  as  burned.  Lee  lime  has  quite  a 
reputation,  and  finds  its  principal  market  in  this  and 
the  neighboring  towns,  much  of  it  being  used  for  bleach- 
ing rags  in  the  manufacture  of  paper. 

"Marble  is  the  most  valuable  mineral  in  Lee  as  yet 
discovered.  The  supply  is  inexhaustible.  It  is  easy  of 
access,  and  for  a  generation,  at  least,  it  will  be  easily 
quarried,  as  some  of  this  marble  lies  120  feet  above  the 
river.  The  marble  is  of  a  superior  quality.  Prof.  Hitch- 
cock says  that  it  is  '  a  pure  crystalline  double  carbonate  of 
magnesia  and  lime.'  It  is  therefore  dolomite  marble,  48 
per  cent,  carbonate  of  lime,  49  per  cent,  carbonate  of 
magnesia.  Much  of  it  is  pure  white  and  is  susceptible  of 
a  very  fine  polish.  It  will  also  work  a  perfectly  square 
arris.  This  renders  it  a  desirable  material  for  chimney- 
pieces,  furniture,  &c.  Frost  and  heat  produce  little 
change  in  size  and  weight.  It  will  sustain  a  pressure  of 
2G,000  pounds  to  the  square  inch,  while  Italian  marble 
crushes  at  13,000  lbs,  and  most  of  the  American  mar- 
ble will  crush  at  12,000  lbs.  By  some  of  the  severest 
tests  to  which  marble  can  be  put,  by  the  chemist  and 
architect,  Lee  marble  was  decided  to  be  the  best  in  the 
world  for  a  building  material ;  hence  a  Congressional 
Committee  decided  that  this  should  be  the  marble  to  be 
used  for  the  enlargement  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington." 

Among  the  mineralogical  specimens  to  be  obtained 
may  be  mentioned  marl,  peat,  micaceous  limestone,  mica, 
quartz,  gray  limestone,  augite,  bladed  tremolite,  radiated 
actinolite,  dolomite,  sphere. 

CLIMATE. 

The  average  temperature  for  the  county  is  stated  by 
Prof.  Dewey  to  be  46°;  ranging  from  22°  to  102°.  The 
wind  is  from  the  north-west  150  days  in  the  year.     The 


]16  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

average  rain-fall  yearly  is  34  inches.  The  Winter  of  1780 
was  very  severe.  The  storm  of  September  22  and  23, 
1815,  was  accompanied  with  very  high  winds.  A  tor- 
nado in  1809  did  damage  in  Stockbridge,  and  a  whirlwind 
in  Lee  and  adjoining  towns  a  few  years  later.  In  181G, 
there  wTas  frost  every  month  in  the  year.  In  February, 
1836,  it  snowed  every  day  in  the  month.  The  Housatonic 
valley  is  much  sheltered  from  the  prevailing  north-west 
wind,  and  as  the  river  flows  rapidly  through  the  town, 
there  is  comparatively  little  fog  and  miasm.  No  destruc- 
tive epidemic  has  ever  prevailed,  except  in  the  year  1813, 
when  typhoid  pneumonia  spread  through  this  and  neigh- 
boring towns. 

LANDMARKS  AND    NOTEWORTHY    POINTS    OF  VIEW. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Hoosac  range  of  mountains 
that  bound  Lee  on  the  east,  there  is  abundant  evidence 
in  the  terraces  and  sand-hills  that  most  of  the  town  was 
once  under  water,  in  fact  that  a  great  lake  covered  much 
of  its  territory,  the  Housatonic  being  dammed  by  the 
rocks  and  hills  at  the  west  end  of  South  Lee.  As  the 
water  deepened  its  channel  at  this  outlet  the  lake  gradu- 
ally subsided.  The  table  lands  near  Lenox  Furnace  and 
the  sand-hills  near  the  stone  factory,  in  Water  street,  are 
evidently  the  result  of  the  action  of  water  in  large  body. 
The  eminences  in  Lee,  as  in  all  the  towns  of  Berkshire, 
afford  views  of  surpassing  beauty.  Those  around  Laurel 
Lake  are  seldom  excelled.  Other  towns  may  be  more 
famous,  but  nowhere  does  the  landscape  present  more 
varied  and  charming  views,  and  nowhere  are  the  drives 
more  attractive. 

BOUNDARIES. 

The  boundary  lines  of  the  town,  as  found  in  the  records 
of  the  various  perambulations  required  by  law,  do  not 
always  correspond  exactly  with  each  other,  nor  with  those 


TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  117 

mentioned  in  the  act  of  incorporation.  Some  are  given 
with  great  minuteness  of  detail.  Others  show  unaccount- 
able deficiencies  of  necessary  figures.  The  line  on  the 
West,  the  dividing  line  between  Lee  and  Stockbridge,  is 
S.  7°  30'  W.  about  1,550  rods.  Great  Barrington  line  on 
the  South  is  E.  7°  S.  757  rods.  Tyringham  line  on  the 
South-west  corner  has  one  re-entrant  angle,  and  running 
from  the  corner  made  with  Great  Barrington,  extends  N. 
37°  E.  628  rods,  to  Deer-horn  Corner,  where  it  turns  and 
extends  E.  2°  S.  1,072  rods.  At  this  south-east  point  of 
the  township  it  forms  a  corner  with  the  Becket  line, 
which  runs  N.  Sk°  W.  376  rods.  Here  is  met  the  Wash- 
ington town  line,  which  runs  N.  29°  W.  580  rods,  then 
makes  a  sharp  turn  on  line  of  Lot  No.  63  of  the  old 
township,  S  63°  W.  246  rods,  then  takes  the  same  course 
as  first  given  N.  29°  W.  1,236  rods,  to  the  uppermost  cor- 
ner of  the  town  on  the  East  bank  of  the  Housatonic  River. 
From  this  it  follows  down  the  line  of  the  river  1,106  rods, 
then  across  the  river,  enclosing  a  little  strip  between  the 
river  and  a  line  running  S.  8°  W.  162  rods.  Then  it 
crosses  the  river  again,  and  runs  in  general  course  W. 
6|°  N.  563  rods.  Here  the  line  makes  a  double  jog  like 
two  steps  downward  N.  6°  E.  48i  rods,  S.  85£c  E.  52  rods, 
N.  10°  W.  34!  rods,  S.  84°  E.  122  rods,  till  it  strikes  the 
Stockbridge  line. 


Early  Settlements  in  Berkshire  County. 


One  hundred  years,  and  more,  elapsed  after  the  Land- 
ing of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth,  1620,  December  21,  be- 
fore Western  Massachusetts  began  to  be  settled.  The 
rush  of  immigration  to  New  England  ceased  about  1640. 
About  1636,  the  settlement  of  the  Connecticut  River 
towns  began,  and  they  continued  along  the  river  to  grow 
for  30  years ;  but  for  nearly  half  a  century  the  new  set- 
tlements moved  no  farther  westward  than  the  foot  of  Mt. 
Tekoa.  During  this  period  the  population  of  New  Eng- 
land increased  only  by  the  natural  increase  of  families. 
The  wars  of  the  European  monarchies  involved  the  Amer- 
ican colonies  of  France  and  England  in  the  turmoil  and 
horrors  of  sanguinary  strife.  The  opening  of  new  settle- 
ments, or  plantations,  as  they  were  sometimes  called,  was 
delayed  by  the  necessities  of  the  military  service  de- 
manded of  the  colonists,  and  by  the  dangers  of  exposure 
to  the  predatory  and  bloody  incursions  of  a  savage  foe. 
The  Indian  tribes  of  southern  New  England  were  so  thor- 
oughly subdued  in  King  Philip's  war,  as  it  is  called,  1675 
and  1676,  that  very  little  trouble  was  experienced  from 
them  after  that  period.  But  in  the  first  French  war, 
1690-1697,  or  King  William's,  the  Indians  that  were  in 
alliance  with  the  Canadian  military  authorities  made  va- 
rious attacks  upon  the  frontier  settlements,  as  they  did 
also  in  the  second  French  war,  or  Queen  Anne's,  1702 — 
1713.  Besides  this  hindrance  to  settlement  from  fear  of 
the  Indians,  other  obstacles  presented  themselves  in  the 
uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  boundary  between  Massa- 


TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  119 

chusetts  and  New  York  ;  and  in  the  broken,  mountainous 
character  of  the  region. 

1722,  January  30,  Joseph  Parsons  and  115  others, 
Thomas  White  and  59  others,  inhabitants  of  Hampshire 
county,  petitioned  the  General  Court  for  two  townships 
of  land  situated  on  the  Housatonic  river,  at  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  Massachusetts  Patent.  The  peti- 
tion was  granted,  and  a  committee  appointed  1722,  June 
29,  to  lay  out  two  townships,  each  seven  miles  square. 
This  committee  were  authorized  to  make  grants  of  the 
land  to  actual  settlers,  each  grantee  paying  the  committee 
30s.  for  every  100  acres.  This  sum  was  to  be  used  in 
buying  Indian  titles,  and  paying  expenses  of  surveying. 
The.  remainder  was  to  be  "  improved  in  building  meeting- 
houses in  said  townships."  The  Indians,  whose  home  was 
at  Stockbridge  and  in  that  vicinity,  sold  for  £460,  three 
barrels  of  cider,  and  thirty  quarts  of  rum,  their  title  to 
what  is  now  the  southern  half  of  Berkshire  county.  The 
deed,  dated  1724,  April  25,  included  part  of  what  is  now 
the  town  of  Lee  (the  Hoplands).  The  western  boundary 
of  the  whole  territory  purchased  was  the  New  York  Colony 
Line  ;  the  southern,  the  dividing  line  from  Connecticut ; 
the  eastern,  four  miles  from  the  Housatonic,  extending 
northward  "  in  a  general  way  ;  "  while  the  northern  line 
was  "  to  the  Great  Mountain,"  now  known  as  Rattlesnake 
mountain.  This  territory,  known  at  first  as  "  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Housatonic  Townships,"  was  surveyed  into  lots 
for  settlement.  In  1731,  the  boundary  lines  were  estab- 
lished, and  settlers  began  to  pour  in.  Liberal  grants  of 
land  were  made  by  the  General  Court  to  individuals. 
Many  public  men  were  voted  such  gratuities.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1733,  the  lower  township  was  incorporated  by  the 
name  of  Sheffield.  This  was  the  first  town  settled  and 
incorporated  in  what  is  now  Berkshire  county.  The  up- 
per township  was  set  off  1742,  January  13,  as  the  North 


120  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Parish  in  Sheffield,  and  incorporated  as  a  town  under  the 
name  of  Great  Barrington,  1761,  June  30. 

In  1735,  a  road  was  cut  from  Westfield  to  Sheffield, 
and  was  for  fifty  years  the  traveled  road  from  Springfield 
to  the  Housatonic  and  the  Hudson.  1735,  January  15, 
the  General  Court  ordered  that  four  contiguous  townships 
should  be  laid  out  upon  this  road,  and  joining  either  Shef- 
field, or  the  Suffield  Equivalent.  This  last  was  so  named 
originally  from  its  being  the  territory  granted  to  the  pro- 
prietors of  Suffield,  Conn.,  for  land  taken  from  them  in 
establishing  the  dividing  line  between  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut.  It  was  afterwards  called  Glasgow,  but  when 
incorporated,  1741,  April  10,  received  the  name  of  Bland- 
ford.  The  four  townships  were  for  a  long  time  designated 
numerically.  Tyringham  was  Number  One;  New  Marl- 
borough, Number  Two;  Sandisfield,  Number  Three; 
Becket,  Number  Four. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  territory  surrounding  Lee 
was  settled  thirty  years  before  any  settlement  was  made 
in  this  town.  Stockbridge  was  incorporated  1739,  June 
22,  as  an  Indian  town,  six  miles  square,  taking  off  a  strip 
770  rods  in  width  from  the  north  line  of  Great  Barring- 
ton,  or  the  Upper  Housatonic  Township,  as  it  was  then 
called.  Lenox  and  Richmond  originally  (1765,  June  20) 
constituted  one  town  to  the  north  of  Stockbridge,  with  a 
considerable  territory  intervening;  that  is,  the  southern 
line  of  Lenox  was  originally  much  farther  north  than  the 
present.  The  western  and  eastern  sections  of  Richmond, 
bought  by  Samuel  Brown,  Jr.,  of  Stockbridge,  in  1760,  of 
two  Stockbridge  chiefs,  Ephraim  and  Yokun,  before  its 
incorporation  under  the  name  of  Richmond,  were  called 
respectively  Mount  Ephraim  and  Yokuntown.  The  east- 
ern section,  or  Yokuntown,  was  incorporated  as  the  dis- 
trict of  Lenox,  1767,  February  20,  and  was  so  called  from 
the  familv  name  of  the  Duke  of  Richmond.     The  west- 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  121 

ern  part,  or  Mount  Ephraim,  of  the  original  purchase, 
retained  the  original  name  of  the  town,  Richmond. 
Mount  Ephraim  was  not  the  name  of  the  territory  of  Lee, 
or  any  part  of  it.  What  is  now  included  in  the  township 
was  "  The  Hoplands,"  originally  the  north-eastern  part  of 
Great  Barrington ;  the  western  part  of  Hartwood,  now 
Washington ;  the  Glassworks  Grant ;  a  part  of  Larrabee's 
Grant ;  and  a  part  of  the  Ministers'  Grant,  or  Williams1 
Grant,  as  it  is  variously  called. 

INDIAN"    OCCUTANTS. 

The  Indian  claimants  to  this  whole  region  can  hardly 
be  called  occupants  or  owners.  They  were  of  the  Mohegan 
race,  or  in  the  Indian  pronunciation,  the  Mu-h-he-ka-new, 
"  the  people  of  the  waters  that  ebb  and  flow,"  indicat- 
ing their  proper  home  along  the  shores  of  the  Hudson 
and  the  Connecticut.  They  are  also  designated  the  Stock- 
bridge  tribe,  from  the  English  name  of  their  principal  set- 
tlement ;  or  the  Housatonic  tribe,  from  their  residence  in 
the  valley  of  the  Housatonic,  "  the  river  among  the 
mountains."  One  of  the  earliest  of  the  many  forms  of  this 
river's  name  is  that  given  by  Hubbard,  "  Ausotunnoog," 
in  his  Narrative  of  Indian  Wars.  Smith,  in  his  History 
of  Pittsfield,  Vol.  i,  p.  20,  gives  a  Dutch  origin  to  the 
name  of  the  river,  as  if  Housatonic  were  an  Indian 
variation  of  "  Westenhock,"  or  West  corner.  In  the 
Pittsfield  Registry,  Vol.  ii,  p.  12,  is  a  deed  from  "  Masin- 
amake,  alias  Solomon,  one  of  the  Maheckander  Indians," 
1738,  Sept.  11,  to  Jacob  Wendell,  of  land  "10  miles 
above  the  Hoplands  in  the  upper  town  at  Housatonic,  on 
both  sides  of  Westenhock,  alias  Sheffield  River."  In 
Vol.  ii,  p.  172  of  the  Pittsfield  Registry,  is  a  deed,  dated 
1763,  Jan.  12,  in  which,  for  £1,«00,  the  title  to  all  land 
in  Berkshire  County  not  covered  by  previous  purchases, 
is  sold  to  the  General  Court  by  "  Benjamin  Kohhka- 
16 


122  TI1E    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

wenaunaut,  Chief  Sachem  of  the  Mohheknnnuck  River 
Indians,  or  Housatonic  tribe "  and  others  named  "  In- 
dian Hunters  and  claimers  of  the  Lands  lying  in  the 
Western  part  of  the  said  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
from  the  Great  River  called  Hudson  River  on  the  West 
part  and  a  river  called  Westfield  River  in  the  East  part." 
(See  also  Council  Records  at  Boston,  Vol.  xxiv,  p.  603, 
1703,  Feb.  17.) 

At  the  time  of  the  first  settlements  in  what  is  now 
Berkshire  County,  the  Indians  had  been,  as  is  supposed, 
greatly  reduced  from  their  former  numbers.  There  were 
only  about  ninety  in  all  in  1736.  Some  of  the  Mohawk 
tribe  from  New  York  were  induced  to  come  to  Stock- 
bridge  in  1750,  for  the  sake  of  the  school  and  other 
advantages  offered  to  them.  They  numbered  200  in 
1747  ;  420  in  1785.  At  the  close  of  this  year  last  named 
they  all  removed  to  New  Stockbridge,  New  York,  on  the 
Oneicla  reservation.  Afterwards,  in  1822,  they  went  still 
farther  West  to  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin  ;  and  in  1839,  a 
portion  of  the  tribe  removed  West  of  the  Missouri,  near 
Fort  Leavenworth. 

The  war  paint  and  feathers,  blanket  and  moccasins 
had  long  been  laid  aside  for  the  dress  of  the  pale-faces, 
when  the  territory  of  Lee  was  opened  to  settlement. 
The  manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians,  the  success  of 
the  methods  adopted  for  their  localization  and  elevation, 
are  told  with  interesting  details  by  Miss  Jones  in  her  His- 
tory of  Stockbridge.  They  claimed  as  theirs  by  right  of 
possession,  a  wide  extent  of  territory,  though  they  were 
few  in  number  and  did  little  more  within  the  limits  of 
their  domain  than  hunt  when  the  danger  of  starvation 
compelled  them  to  exert  themselves.  Their  claim  to 
ownership  was  treated  by  the  first  settlers  and  by  the 
Provincial  authorities  as  valid.  The  Indian  titles  were 
extinguished   by   compensation   paid    and   deeds  of  sale 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  123 

signed  and  recorded.  It  would  seem,  however,  that 
though  there  was  no  permanent  Indian  village,  some  few 
of  the  tribe  visited  the  region  now  occupied  by  this  vil- 
lage every  Spring,  and  built  here  their  rude  wigwams, 
while  for  four  or  six  weeks  they  made  maple  sugar  from 
the  trees  in  this  neighborhood  ;  probably  from  the  maple 
orchard  that  only  a  few  years  ago  was  to  be  seen  just 
south  of  where  the  trotting  park  is  now  located.  Capt. 
Enoch  Garfield,  grandfather  of  Hon.  Harrison  Garfield, 
when  a  boy  came  from  Tyringham,  where  his  father 
(Isaac  Garfield  first  settled  in  Tyringham)  then  lived,  to 
a  five  acre  lot  which  had  been  cleared  and  mowed.  He 
came  four  miles  to  look  after  cattle  that  were  foddered 
from  the  hay  which  they  had  gathered  and  stacked. 
Having  no  cart  they  used  a  tree-top  on  wdiich  to  draw 
the  hay.  Sundays  they  came  only  to  fodder  the  cattle, 
not  to  spend  the  day  chopping.  Seeing  smoke  arising 
in  this  direction,  young  Garfield,  then  fourteen  years  old, 
came  down  to  find  an  Indian  wigwam  just  south  of 
where  the  park  now  is.  The  old  squaw,  its  sole  inmate 
at  the  time,  welcomed  him  hospitably  and  brought  out 
from  beneath  her  blankets  some  maple  sugar  and  gave 
it  to  him.  Crossing  the  river  on  a  tree  that  had  been  felled 
to  make  a  bridge,  he  found  another  wigwam  near  where 
the  marble  quarry  now  is.  This  is  the  first  account  we 
have,  even  in  tradition,  of  this  particular  locality  and  of 
the  first  occupants  of  the  present  village.  Mr.  Garfield, 
when  twenty -three  years  old,  moved  into  the  place  and 
built  a  log-house  where  Mr.  Nathaniel  Bassett  afterwards 
lived. 

But  before  passing  to  the  history  of  the  first  settlers,  it 
may  be  well  to  complete  what  brief  allusion  remains  to 
be  made  to  the  Indian  race,  and  the  tribe  that  once  called 
this  territory  their  home. 


1^4  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

"  There  was  a  time  when  red  men  climbed  these  hills, 

And  wandered  by  these  plains  and  rills, 

Or  rowed  the  light  canoe  along  yon  river, 

Or  rushed  to  conflict  armed  with  bow  and  quiver; 

Or  'neath  the  forest  leaves  that  o'er  them  hung, 

They  council  held,  or  loud  their  war-notes  rung." 

About  the  time  Lee  was  settled,  the  number  of  the 
Indians  had  very  much  decreased.  They  fought  on  the 
side  of  the  English  colonists  in  the  old  French  and  Indian 
wars.  At  the  battle  of  White  Plains  a  full  company  of 
Indians  took  an  active  part,  and  then  served  all  through 
the  Revolutionary  war.  Another  company  acted  as  ran- 
gers near  Boston.  At  Gen.  Washington's  order,  a  feast 
was  given  them  at  Stockbridge  after  the  war  closed. 

"  The  Indian  hath  gone  to  his  lonely  grave, 
He  slumbers  in  dark  decay ; 
And  like  the  crest  of  the  tossing  wave, 
Like  the  wail  of  the  blast  from  the  mountain  cave, 
Like  the  groan  of  the  murdered  with  none  to  save, 
His  people  have  passed  away." 

THE    HOPLANDS. 

"  The  Hoplancls  "  is  the  territory  in  the  south  part  of 
the  town  which  was  originally  a  part  of  Upper  Housa- 
tonic  Parish,  or  Great  Barrington.  Its  southern  line  is 
the  south  line  of  the  town.  "The  northern  line  com- 
mences near  the  Stockbridge  boundary,  about  half  a  mile 
north  of  William  Blake's,  running  a  little  north  of  T.  M. 
Judd's,and  thence  nearly  with  the  road  to  the  town-house 
and  John  Baker's  in  Cape  street ;  thence  southerly  to  the 
Tyringham  line."  William  Ingersoll  owned  about  1,000 
acres  in  this  tract,  which  was  enough  to  furnish  himself 
and  each  of  his  seven  sons  with  a  farm  of  no  mean  dimen- 
sions. The  name,  Hopland,  is  derived  from  the  great 
quantity  of  hops  that  formerly  grew  wild  upon  the 
banks  of  the  river  which  Hows  down  from  Tyringham. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  125 

Hopbrook,  or  North  Tyringham,  was  left  unsettled  for 
more  than  twenty  years.  It  appears  from  a  Memorial  pre- 
sented to  the  General  Court,  1773,  June  15,  (Mass.  Ar- 
chives, 143  :  77,)  that  through  the  malfeasance  of  David 
Ingersoll,  whom  the  proprietors  of  Upper  Housatonnuck 
Township  had  chosen  clerk,  their  records  were  in  utter 
confusion.  A  committee  was  ordered  to  proceed  to 
Great  Barrington,  ascertain  the  facts,  and  recommend 
measures  to  remedy  the  difficulty.  This  committee  ar- 
ranged, so  far  as  possible,  the  records  which  they  found 
of  divisions  of  lands.  These,  with  some  changes  they  rec- 
ommended to  the  General  Court,  should  be  confirmed  as 
valid.  (Mass.  Archives,  143  :  32).  Forty  Proprietors' 
Rights,  owned  bj^  fourteen  persons,  covered  the  whole  of 
the  area  of  the  upper  township  (22,120  acres).  One 
right  was  allotted  the  first  minister,  one  for  the  ministry, 
another  for  the  school.  David  Ingersoll,  father  of  Wil- 
liam Ingersoll,  had  five  rights,  or  one-eighth  of  this  quan- 
tity. The  papers  of  the  Committee  were  destroyed  or 
burned.  1749,  July  18,  the  Hoplands  were  laid  out  and 
the  meadows  divided,  one  right  being  set  apart  for 
schools.  1750,  April  12,  there  was  another  division,  and, 
as  before,  land  was  set  apart  for  school  purposes.  1771, 
February  1,  the  school  lands  in  this  particular  district 
were  set  apart  for  the  benefit  of  people  residing  in  the 
district.  There  were  six  different  allotments  of  land, 
ranging  from  ten  to  forty  acres  at  a  time.  The  school 
rights  reserved  amounted  in  all  to  about  170  acres, 
which  by  the  vote,  mentioned  above,  became  the  exclu- 
sive property  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  district.  Ensign 
William  Ingersoll  was  a  prominent  man  among  the  peo- 
ple of  this  district.  His  house  was  the  work-house  of 
Great  Barrington  from  1761  to  1769.  The  road  from 
the  Glassworks  Grant,  passing  by  Matthew  Van  Deusen's, 
passed  Ingersoll's  house  42  rods  north-west  of  the  river, 


126  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

and  .after  crossing  this,  passed  Reuben  Pixley's  about 
84  rods  west  from  the  crossing.  (See  Great  Barrington 
town  records,  1771,  May  27.)  A  road  was  laid  out  at 
the  same  time  from  Isaac  Davis'  to  the  Stockbridge 
line.  In  1761,  May  18,  Thomas  Willcocks  and  John 
Hamblin  were  chosen  petit  jurors — immediately  after 
the  incorporation  of  Great  Barrington.  Reuben  Pixley 
was  a  petit  juror  in  1765,  and  Matthew  Van  Deusen  a 
collector  in  1768.  These  names  will  be  recognized  as 
the  names  of  the  first  citizens  of  Lee.  In  1770,  March 
21,  the  people  of  the  Hoplands  very  modestly  requested 
of  Great  Barrington  to  be  relieved  "  from  paying  Minis- 
terial Rates,  School  Rates,  and  Highway  Rates."  The 
town  records  of  Great  Barrington,  from  1771  to  1777, 
were  not  entered  on  the  book,  and  the  papers  on  which 
they  wrere  minuted,  if  they  wrere  minuted  at  all,  are  not 
to  be  found.  But  in  the  Massachusetts  Archives,  in  con- 
nection with  the  pnpers  relating  to  the  incorporation  of 
Lee,  it  is  stated  that  the  people  of  Great  Barrington  in 
town  meeting,  1773,  December  29,  made  no  objections  to 
the  petition  of  the  people  on  the  Hoplands  for  incorpora- 
tion as  a  town. 

HARTWOOD    OR    WASHINGTON. 

The  eastern  section  of  the  present  township  of  Lee  was 
taken  from  what  is  now  the  town  of  Washington,  pre- 
viously called  Hartwood.  In  1757-8,  Robert  Watson,  of 
Sheffield,  aided  and  abetted  by  David  Ingersoll,  acting  as 
his  Attorney,  claimed  to  have  purchased  of  the  Indians  a 
tract  of  land  now  comprising  the  town  of  Washington, 
and  part  of  the  towns  of  Middlefield,  Hinsdale,  Lenox, 
"  and  Lee."  The  portion  set  off  to  Lee  is  marked  on 
the  east  by  the  present  town  lines ;  on  the  west  it  may 
be  traced,  following  a  line  beginning  at  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  Hopland  district,  running  northerly  to  John 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  127 

Baker's,  thence  westerly  to  near  the  present  Town  Farm, 
and  thence  northerly,  following  the  road  from  the  Town 
Farm  to  the  Housatonic  River. 

The  land  was  ostensibly  purchased  of  Benjamin  Kohk- 
ke-wau-naut,  John  Pop-hue-hou-au-wah,  and  Robert 
Nung-hau-wot,  chiefs  of  the  Stockbridge  tribe  of  Indians. 
It  is  said  that  a  part  of  the  consideration  was  to  be  in  the 
"fire-water"  of  that  day.  This  territory  was  called  at 
first  Watsontown,  after  the  name  of  its  purchaser. 

Soon  after  this  purchase,  Mr.  Watson  sold  his  title  to 
this  grant  to  a  company  of  sixty  men,  the  most  of  whom 
resided  in  Hartford,  Conn.  This  company  divided  their 
land  into  sixty-three  shares,  one  for  each  of  60  propri- 
etors, one  for  schools,  one  for  the  ministry,  and  one  for 
the  first  settled  minister.  They  also  changed  the  name 
to  Greenock,  in  memory  of  the  Scotch  town  of  that  name, 
as  Blandford,  near  by,  was  for  a  similar  reason  called 
Glasgow,  by  the  Suffield  company. 

These  proprietors  soon  found  that  Watson  was  insolvent 
and  in  jail,  and  had  failed  to  fulfill  the  obligations  to  the 
Indians  ;  and  the  Indians  threfore  retained  their  right  to 
the  territory  of  Greenock.  The  Company  re-purchased 
it  of  the  Indians  17G0,  July  10,  paying  them  £1713  in 
money ;  and  then  applied  to  the  Governor  of  the  Prov- 
ince to  establish  their  title  to  their  property. 

Action  on  the  above  petition,  presented  1762-3,  Jan- 
uary 13,  was  delayed  till  1763,  February  8,  when  the 
Governor  and  Council  granted  the  petition,  and  changed 
the  name  of  the  town  to  Hartwood.  The  conditions  of 
the  grant  "  were  that  within  the  space  of  five  years  there 
should  be  sixty  settlers  residing  in  said  Township,  who 
shall  each  have  a  dwelling-house  of  the  following  dimen- 
sions :  24  feet  long,  18  feet  wide,  and  16  feet  posts  ;  and 
have  seven  acres  of  land  well  cleared  and  fenced,  and 
brought  to  English  grass,  or  ploughed."     They  were  also 


128  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

to  settle  "  a  learned  Protestant  Minister  of  the  Gospel 
in  said  Township  within  the  time  aforesaid."  The 
proprietors  met  at  Hartford,  1760,  October  23,  and 
authorized  Dr.  Norman  Morrison,  of  Hartford,  and  Samuel 
Brown,  Jr.,  of  Stockbridge,  to  enclose  with  a  possession 
fence,  the  north-west  corner  of  the  town  land,  now  the 
northern  part  of  the  town  of  Lee.  In  1761,  the  pro- 
prietors met  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Hezekiah  Colyn,  Jr.,  of 
Hartford,  and  rights  were  duly  recorded.  Besides  resi- 
dents of  Hartford,  others  from  Tolland,  Wethersfielcl, 
Windsor,  Enfield,  and  Suffield,  appear  as  proprietors. 
1762,  June  29,  they  met  at  Springfield,  at  the  inn  of  Luke 
Bliss,  and  accepted  the  report  of  the  Committee  for  laying 
out  the  new  plantation.  1763,  March  28,  John  Walker, 
of  Hartford,  sold  (Pittsfield  Registry  2:105)  one-third  of 
Greenock,  alias  Hartwood,  to  Robert  Henry  of  Albany, 
for  £90.  1768,  February  28,  at  the  proprietors'  meeting 
in  Hartwood,  the  second  division  of  the  land  was  made. 
Subsequent  business  meetings  of  the  proprietors  were 
held  in  Lee.  In  accordance  with  their  petition,  1808, 
April  8,  their  records  are  to  be  kept  in  Lee,  and  are  now  in 
the  Town  Clerk's  custody.  The  old  records  were  tran- 
scribed by  Ransom  Hinman,  in  1853.  One  record,  show- 
ing the  vagueness  of  many  of  the  titles  is  to  the  effect, 
that  1788,  April  14,  as  the  line  of  Larrabee's  Grant  was 
not  known,  a  Proprietors'  Committee  was  authorized  to 
•give  certain  persons  a  quitclaim  deed  of  land  lying  west 
of  a  certain  definite  line,  said  owners  giving  the  Com- 
mittee a  quitclaim  deed  to  all  lands  lying  east  of  said 
line.  The  people  of  what  is  now  Lee,  seem  to  have  been 
the  first  to  ask  for  incorporation  as  a  town.  Their 
petition  to  that  effect,  1774,  January  6,  was  ordered  by 
the  Legislature  to  be  communicated  to  the  people  of 
Hartwood.  This  had  the  effect  of  brinonn^  out  a  counter 
petition  from  them  1774,  May  25,  asking  for  incorporation 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  129 

as  a  town,  with  the  boundaries  as  given  in  the  original 
grant.  The  boundaries  given  in  the  act  of  incorporation, 
1777,  April  12,  would  indicate  that  they  succeeded  in 
securing  this  from  the  General  Court.  The  original 
Western  boundary  of  Hartwood  as  given  in  the  petition, 
(see  Holland's  Hist.  Western  Mass.  Vol.  2,  p.  602)  is  uthe 
east  side  of  Glassworks  Grant  550  rods  to  the  north-east 
corner  of  said  Grant,  and  east  side  of  Housatonic  River." 
But  the  petition  of  the  Lee  people  seems  to  have  been  also 
granted,  and  by  the  boundaries  given  in  their  act  of  incor- 
poration a  few  months  subsequently,  a  part  of  Washington 
became  a  constituent  part  of  the  present  town  of  Lee. 

THE  GRANTS :  WILLIAMS',  LARRABEE'S,  GLASS-WORKS. 
WILLIAMS'    GRANT. 

Three  different  special  grants,  or  parts  of  them,  were 
also  taken  by  the  act  of  incorporation  of  the  town  to 
constitute  the  township.  The  Williams'  Grant,  more  com- 
monly called  the  Minister's  Grant,  forming  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  town,  was  a  grant  of  about  four  thou- 
sand acres,  made  by  the  General  Court,  1740,  Jan.  21, 
to  Col.  Ephraim  Williams  of  Stockbridge  and  partners.* 

*  The  Col.  Williams  mentioned  above  as  the  grantee  of  the  Williams'  Grant  was 
not  the  founder  of  Williams  College,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Amory  Gale  in  his  History  of 
Lee,  but  his  father,  one  of  the  first  four  white  settlers  of  Stockbridge.  The  mistake 
is  a  natural  one,  for  both  father  and  son  had  the  same  name  and  military  title. 
Ephraim  Williams,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Newton,  near  Boston,  in  1715,  and  at  the  time  of 
this  grant,  had  done  nothing  in  the  way  of  public  service  which  should  entitle  him  to 
such  a  favor.  In  early  life  he  followed  the  seas,  but  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
against  France  and  England  in  1740,  the  year  in  which  the  Williams'  Grant  was 
made,  he  joined  the  army  and  distinguished  himself  as  the  commander  of  a  company 
in  the  Canada  service.  At  the  close  of  the  war  (1748),  he  resided  for  a  short  time 
at  Stockbridge,  but  never  was  much  identified  with  Southern  Berkshire.  In  1750, 
the  General  Court,  in  consideration  of  his  services,  granted  him  two  hundred  acres 
of  land  in  East  Hoosack,  now  North  Adams.  On  this  srant  was  soon  afterwards 
erected  Fort  Massachusetts,  located  between  the  villages  of  North  Adams  and  Wil 
liamstown-<-then  called  West  Hoosack, — and  the  head-quarters  of  Col.  Williams 
after  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  forts  west  of  the  Connecticut  River. 
He  was  shot  through  the  head  the  8th  of  September,  1755,  while  heading  a  scout- 
ing party  against  the  French  and  Indians  near  the  south  end  of  Lake  George. 
17 


130  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

The  whole  transaction  is  a  peculiar  one,  and  reveals  the 
shrewdness  of  the  benevolent  persons  who  took  such 
o;ood  care  of  the  affairs  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians. 
1739,  May  3,  (Mass.  Archives,  xxxi,  238,)  a  memorial 
was  presented  to  the  General  Court,  representing  that 
there  was  a  piece  of  meadow  owned  by  Williams  and 
partners  which  the  Indians  would  like  to  have.  Williams 
offered  to  give  it  to  the  Indians  if  the  General  Court 
would  grant  him  an  equivalent*  in  the  unappropriated 
lands  of  the  Province,  but  the  number  of  acres  bought 
is  not  specified.  In  1739,  June  15,  a  grant  was  made 
accordingly  of  4,000  acres  of  land,  which  had  been  sur- 
veyed Feb.  10,  1739,  by  Oliver  Partridge,  "adjoining 
Westerly  and  Southerly  on  the  Indian  township  on  Hous- 
atonic  River." 

There  must  have  been  some  surprise  about  the  quan- 
tity of  this  "  equivalent,"  but  it  was  represented  that 
the  land  consisted  of  very  valuable  meadow  land,  and 
the  four  thousand  acres  were  wild.  Besides  this,  it 
appears  that  Col.  Williams  had  some  partners  in  this 
transfer,  five  ministers,  and  Mr.  Timothy  Woodbridge, 
the  schoolmaster  of  Stockbridge.  In  the  Springfield 
Registry  (Vol.  M  :  525)  are  articles  of  agreement  and 
division,  1742,  Jan.  20,  between  Mr.  Williams  and  Mr. 
Woodbridge  of  Stockbridge,  and  Rev.  Stephen  Williams 
of  Springfield,  Rev.  Samuel  Hopkins  of  Springfield,  Rev. 
Peter  Raynolds  of  Enfield,  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards  of 
Northampton,  Rev.  Nehemiah  Bull  of  Westfield,  deceased, 
represented  by  Oliver  Partridge  of  Hatfield.  (Miss  Eliza- 
beth Partridge  of  Hatfield,  was  married  in  1728,  Feb. — 
to  Rev.  Mr.  Bull.  He  died  1740,  April  12,  aged  38.)  A 
very  goodly  array  of  names,  a  very  respectable  "  ring  " 
for  those  days   or   these  days.     A  plan   of  the  land  is 

*  The  Stockbridge  Indians  affirmed  that  it  belonged  to  the  Shawanose.     Wil- 
liams and  Woodbridge  paid  these  Indians  ,£15  for  their  title. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  131 

given  in  connection  with  the  articles  of  agreement,  from 
which  it  appears  that  Col.  Williams  had  for  his  portion 
900  acres  lying  around  Laurel  Lake.  The  ministers  fol- 
lowing along  in  order  northward  had  each  a  lot  of  480 
acres,  while  flanking  the  last  three  ministers'  lots,  Mr. 
Partridge  had  a  lot  of  700  acres.  In  the  Springfield 
Registry  (Vol.  M  :  420),  1741,  Nov.  3,  Timothy  Wood-, 
bridge  of  Stockbridge,  school-master,  deeds  his  lot,  which 
then  measured  510  acres,  to  Isaac  Williams  of  Goshen, 
Hartford  Co.,  Conn.,  '•  Husbandman  alias  Shoemaker,"  for 
£280.  It  had  grown  in  value  and  in  size  very  quickly. 
In  the  same  volume  (M  :  475)  is  the  deed  of  Williams  and 
his  partners,  1741,  Jan.  21,  in  return  for  the  "  4,000  acres 
granted  by  the  General  Court,"  of  280  acres  of  land  in 
Stockbridge  to  Paul  Umpeckhow,  Nicholas  Uwaanmut  and 
other  Indians.  In  various  papers  in  the  Massachusetts 
Archives  (118  :  132)  as  also  in  the  old  deeds  of  the 
Springfield  and  Pittsfield  Registries,  this  "  Williams' 
Grant"  is  called  "  the  Ministers'  Grant."  1750,  Oct.  24, 
Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards  of  Northampton  sold  240  acres  of 
the  Ministers'  Grant  to  Elizer  Dickinson  of  Stockbridge, 
Joiner,  in  exchange  for  the  same  amount  of  land  in 
Stockbridge.  1769,  Aug.  25,  Timothy  Edwards  sold  all 
his  father's  remaining  right  in  the  Ministers'  Grant  to 
Joseph  Woodbridge  for  £328.  Most  of  this  grant  was 
annexed  to  Lenox,  1770,  Nov.  20.  That  belonging  to 
Col.  Williams  is  the  part  that  was  taken  to  help  form  the 
present  township  of  Lee. 

(2.)  Larrabee's  Grant  was  located  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Lenox  Furnace.  A  long  controversy  was  waged  with 
the  town  of  Lenox  in  regard  to  the  rightful  boundaries  of 
this  tract  terminated,  1818,  May  4,  by  a  vote  of  Lee  that 
Lenox  should  have  it,  if  the  town  should  see  fit  to  agree  to 
the  proposition  made.  The  Legislature,  1820,  Feb.  7, 
established  what  has  now  been  the  boundary  line  for  about 


132  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

fifty  years.  John  Larrabee  was  the  officer  in  command 
of"  Castle  Williams,"  the  one  fort  which  was  supposed  to 
afford  sufficient  protection  to  Boston  harbor.  In  1739, 
May  30,  after  a  service  of  seventeen  years  at  the  fort,  he 
petitioned  the  General  Court  for  special  addition  to  his 
pay.  He  had  a  family  of  six  persons  dependent  upon 
him.  His  wages  had  been  barely  sufficient  for  his 
own  subsistence.  He  had  not  been  able  to  provide 
for  his  children.  The  Legislature,  1739,  June  22,  voted 
him  £175  and  a  grant  of  500  acres  of  the  unappropri- 
ated land  of  the  Province.  1740,  Jan.  11,  the  plan  of 
this  tract,  drawn  by  John  Huston,  Surveyor,  in  Dec. 
1739,  was  presented  to  the  General  Court,  accepted,  and 
the  land  duly  confirmed  to  Lieut.  Larrabee,  his  heirs  and 
assigns.  He  was  a  brother  of  Capt.  Benjamin  Larrabee, 
who  had  command  of  a  fort  at  what  is  now  Brunswick, 
Maine.  John  Larrabee  died  in  1761,  and  in  1762, 
Feb.  19,  the  General  Court  granted  his  heirs  an  addi- 
tional £50  in  testimony  of  his  faithful  services.  The 
original  petition  is  to  be  found  in  the  Massachusetts 
Archives,  Vol.  xlvi  :  108.  The  plan  of  the  land  shows  its 
location  on  the  east  line  of  the  grant  made  to  Ephraim 
Williams  and  Company.  Lenox  was  incorporated  as  a 
district,  1767,  Feb.  26.  Its  southern  boundary  was 
changed  1770,  Nov.  20,  before  Lee  was  incorporated.  In 
very  ambiguous  phrase  the  Legislature  annexed  to  Lenox 
all  the  lands  and  persons  living  on  the  south  line  of  Lar- 
rabee's  Grant  as  protracted  west  of  the  Housatonic  River, 
and  also  Samuel  Whelpley  and  his  farm,  jutting  south 
of  this  grant  and  the  Stockbridge  line.  (Deacon  Samuel 
Whelpley  was  the  father  of  Rev.  Samuel  Whelpley,  a 
Presbyterian  minister,  the  author  of  a  "  Compend  of  An- 
cient and  Modern  History"  and  the  "Triangle,"  a  cele- 
brated theological  treatise  on  the  three  points  of  old  school 
Calvinism.)     These  facts  account  for  the  irregularity  of  the 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  133 

line  between  Lenox  and  Lee.  Lenox  claimed  east  of  the 
River  to  the  south  line  of  Larrabee's  Grant.  Lee  claimed 
that  the  River  was  the  boundary  fixed  by  the  Act  of  1770. 
1820,  March  6,  the  selectmen  were  instructed  to  petition 
the  General  Court  to  fix  the  bounds  of  Lee  and  Lenox, 
near  Lenox  Furnace,  as  agreed  upon  by  the  committees 
of  both  towns.  That  agreement,  as  recorded,  1818,  May 
4,  reads : 

"  Beginning  at  reputed  S.  E.  corner  of  Lenox  about  18 
rods  west  of  the  Housatonic  River:  thence  northerly  a 
parallel  line  with  the  west  line  of  Larrabee's  Grant  until 
the  line  shall  reach  the  middle  of  the  said  river  above 
the  furnace  :  thence  northerly  in  the  middle  of  the  said 
river  as  far  as  the  north  line  of  said  grant." 

(3.)  Before  its  incorporation,  the  present  territory  of 
Lee  village  was  commonly  designated  Glassworks,  or 
Glassworks  Grant.  This  was  a  tract  of  land,  in  what  is 
now  the  center  of  the  town,  granted  by  the  General 
Court,  1754,  January  16,  to  John  Franklin  and  Company, 
of  Germantown  in  Braintree,  now  Quincy,  Mass.  It 
appears  from  the  Suffolk  Registry,  (Vol.  80 :  169)  that  in 
1750,  August  8,  Col.  John  Quincy  leased  to  a  company 
consisting  of  John  Franklin,  merchant,  Norton  Quincy, 
merchant,  Peter  Etter,  stocking-weaver,  Joseph  Cullins 
and  Isaac  Winslow,  merchants,  of  Boston,  100  acres  of 
land  on  Shed's  Neck,  at  10s  per  acre.  They  proceeded 
to  lay  out  streets  and  building  lots,  and  to  begin  what 
we  would  now  call  a  manufacturing  village.  A  company 
of  Germans,  skilled  artisans,  were  induced  to  emigrate  to 
this  country,  and  to  locate  on  this  land,  the  proprietors 
holding  out  inducements  for  the  establishment  of  various 
industries.  They  called  their  estate  Germantown,  and  in 
1752,  August  24,  Joseph  Palmer  and  Richard  Cranch, 
card-makers  of  Boston,  (see  Suffolk  Registry,  81 :  109) 
leased  seventeen  lots  on  Hanover  Square,  Hague,  Zurich, 


134  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

and  Manheim  Squares  at  a  yearly  rental  of  5s  for  each  lot. 
1750,  April  12,  and  June  6,  (see  Mass.  Archives,  50  :  355) 
William  Bowdoin  and  Nathaniel  Holmes  of  Boston,  peti- 
tion for  a  grant  of  land  if  they  begin  glass-work  in  five 
years.  1752,  November  27,  Isaac  Winslow,  for  himself 
and  his  partners,  asked  of  the  General  Court,  assistance 
to  enable  them  to  carry  on  the  manufacture  of  glass  at 
Germantown.  They  had  leave  to  prepare  a  bill,  granting 
them  the  monopoly  of  glass-making  for  twenty  years.  It 
is  to  be  found  in  Mass.  Archives,  Vol.  59  :  376.  The  Gen- 
eral Court,  however,  did  not  see  fit  to  enact  the  bill,  when 
presented,  1752,  December  1.  The  next  move  was  a 
petition,  1753,  December  19,  of  John  Franklin  and  Com- 
pany, for  "  a  grant  of  money  to  encourage  the  making 
Potash."  1754,  January  16,  the  petitioners  were  granted 
1,000  acres  in  any  part  of  the  unappropriated  lands  of  the 
Province,  provided  that  they  carried  on  the  manufactories 
at  Germantown  for  the  space  of  seven  years  from  the 
date  of  this  vote.  Twelve  of  their  workmen  were  to  be 
exempted  from  military  duty  or  other  public  service. 
The  manufactories  named  were  weaving,  making  cider, 
glass-making,  pottery,  and  as  appears  from  a  petition  of 
Josiah  Quincy,  of  Braintree,  1752,  December  12,  also, 
"  refining  Sperma  Coeti,  from  the  Oyl,  and  making  the 
same  into  Candles."  In  the  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Library  is 
a  History  of  Quincy  by  George  Whitney,  published  1827. 
On  page  28,  he  says  :  "  Had  they  met  with  no  discour- 
agement, and  been  permitted  to  continue,  there  is  good 
reason  to  believe  the  place  would  now  have  been  thickly 
settled  and  in  a  flourishing'condition.  Continual  impedi- 
ments to  their  success  were  thrown  in  their  way."  Most 
of  the  Germans  left  and  went  to  "  Broad  bay  Plantation, 
incorporated  1773,  as  the  town  of  Waldboro,"  Me.  Here 
they  were  imposed  upon  anew,  and  when  by  their  pa- 
tient industry  the  town  had  taken  form  and  they  began 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  135 

to  feel  at  home,  they  learned  that  they  had  no  valid  title 
to  the  land  they  occupied.  Again,  they  were  obliged  to 
abandon  house  and  land.  It  is  said  in  the  History  of 
Waldboro,  that  most  of  them  went  to  North  Carolina. 
1756,  May  28,  Joseph  Palmer  petitioned  the  General  Court 
for  assistance  "  by  Way  of  Lottery,"  in  view  of  the  losses 
and  embarassments  in  connection  with  the  manufactories 
at  Germantown.  (See  the  New  Englander,  1839,  Janu- 
ary, for  an  interesting  account  of  Gen.  Palmer.)  1757, 
January  25,  the  council  voted  to  dismiss  the  petition,  but 
the  House  of  Representatives  was  in  favor  of  granting  it, 
and  1757,  February  12,  the  bill  legalizing  the  lottery  was 
passed  to  be  enacted,  and  permission  was  given  for  the 
use  of  the  Hall  of  Representatives  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  the  lottery  !  Truly,  an  accommodating  Legisla- 
ture. When  the  Glassworks  Company  made  a  survey  for 
their  grant,  they  selected  the  then  unappropriated  land 
between  the  Ministers'  Grant  and  the  Hoplands,  extend- 
ing up  along  side  of  the  Ministers'  Grant  and  beyond  it. 
They  modestly  asked  that  as  the  plat  surveyed  included 
about  64  acres  more  than  the  1,500  voted  to  them, 
that  the  whole  tract  surveyed  might  be  confirmed  to 
them,  which  was  done  1755,  January  9.  They  bought 
the  Indian  title  1757,  April  27,  of  two  Indians  of  Stock- 
bridge,  John  Pop-hue-hou-au-wah  and  Robert  Nung-hau- 
wot.  As  James  Bowdoin  of  Boston  owned  one-sixth  of  the 
Upper  Housatonic  Township,  it  was  probably  through 
information  given  by  him,  that  the  grant  was  located  as 
it  was.  just  north  of  the  Hoplands.  (Spfd.  Reg.  1:  25.) 
Of  this  grant,  Pelatiah  West  and  Joseph  Hatch,  of  Tol- 
land, Conn.,  became  large,  if  not  sole  owners.  1769,  Jan- 
uary 22,  they  bought  (Pittsfield  Register,  8  :  118)  of  James 
Bowdoin,  Isaac  Winslow,  and  Thomas  Flucker,  fifteen- 
twenty-fourths  (|$)  of  the  Glassworks  Grant  for  £520  16s. 
A  plan  of  the  tract  of  1,564  acres  is  given  showing  that 


136  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

it  extended  from  Stockbridge  line  east  of  the  Hou.satonic 
to  the  western  line  of  Hartwood.  and  lay  south  of  the 
Ministers'  Grant  and  Larrabee's  Grant  and  north  of  the 
Hoplands.  Eleazer  West  also  owned  a  part,  according  to 
a  deed  dated  1768,  March  23  (Pittsfield  Register,  6  :  202). 
One-sixth  of  the  Glassworks  Grant  was  bought  1771,  June 
6,  by  Pelatiah  West,  and  Joseph  Hatch,  of  Norton  Quincy, 
of  Braintree. 

INCORPORATION. 

1 774,  January  6,  the  people  living  on  the  Hoplands, 
and  on  a  part  of  Hartwood  (now  Washington)  and  those 
on  the  Glassworks  Grant,  and  the  Williams'  Grant,  peti- 
tioned the  General  Court  to  be  incorporated  as  a  Town 
or  District.  (Mass.  Archives  118:742.)  1774,  Feb- 
ruary 18,  the  General  Court  voted  that  the  petitioners 
should  notify  the  Hartwood  people  of  their  desires.  1773, 
December  29,  Great  Barrington  in  town  meeting  had 
voted  that  they  would  raise  no  objections.  But  1774, 
May  25,  Hartwood  people  petitioned  for  an  act  of  incor- 
poration keeping  what  they  called  "  the  original  bounds." 
Hartwood  was  not  incorporated  till  1777,  April  12.  Oc- 
tober 17,  1777,  a  Bill  was  introduced  incorporating  the 
town  of  Lee,  in  accordance  with  the  boundaries  originally 
given.  Some  amendments  were  introduced,  and  the  Bill 
was  passed  to  be  enacted.  It  was  signed  by  the  Governor 
the  same  clay,  and  Lee  became  a  town  1777,  October  21. 
It  is  said  that  the  two  towns  had  the  choice  of  the  two 
names,  Washington  and  Lee.  Gen.  Lee  was  at  the  time 
thought  to  be  the  best  officer  in  the  American  army,  and 
the  people  of  Lee  desired  to  have  the  new  town  named 
in  honor  of  one  from  whom  so  much  was  anticipated. 

NOTE  ON  GENERAL  CHARLES  LEE. 

General  Charles  Lee  was  born  in  1731,  in  Devonhall, 
Cheshire,  England.     He  was   the  youngest  son  of  Col. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  137 

John  Lee,  of  the  44th  Regiment.  He  is  said  to  have 
received  a  commission  when  eleven  years  old  ;  at  twenty 
years  of  age,  as  Lieutenant  in  the  44th,  he  came  to 
America,  and  in  Braddock's  campaign  had  his  first  experi- 
ence of  war.  He  became  a  Major  in  the  103d,  and  in 
1772  was  a  Lieutenant  Colonel  on  half-pay.  He  served 
under  Burgoyne  in  Portugal  in  1762,  and  distinguished 
himself  in  a  night  attack  on  a  Spanish  port.  He  was  not 
promoted  as  fast  as  he  thought  he  deserved,  and  became 
one  of  the  aides  of  the  King  of  Poland,  and  in  1769  a 
Major  General  in  the  army.  He  led  for  three  or  four 
years  a  roving  life  in  Southern  Europe.  Returning  to 
England  he  wrote  newspaper  articles  against  the  ministry. 
He  came  to  America,  in  October,  1773.  Here  he  talked 
and  wrote  against  the  measures  of  the  English  Court. 
He  was  present  at  the  session  of  the  first  Continental 
Congress,  and  in  1775,  Congress,  under  the  impression  of 
his  supposed  military  ability,  appointed  him  2d  Major 
General,  a  rank  which  placed  him  next  but  one  to  Wash- 
ington. Only  providential  interposition  prevented  him 
from  betraying  the  cause  he  had  professed  to  espouse. 
It  seems  as  if  he  wanted  only  an  offer  of  money  and 
position  under  the  English  Government  corresponding  to 
the  high  rank  he  had  sought  in  the  Continental  Army. 
Congress  undertook  to  indemnify  him  for  any  supposed 
loss  in  the  resignation  of  his  position  in  the  English  Army 
by  a  donation  of  $30,000,  and  sent  him  to  the  Southern 
States  as  Chief  Commander  in  that  department.  His  plans 
when  in  command,  all  proved  disastrous  failures.  He 
was  taken  prisoner  while  dawdling  away  his  time  in  a 
tavern,  though  he  had  always  boasted  he  would  never  be 
taken  alive.  He  was  exchanged  in  May,  1778,  for  Gen- 
eral Prescott.  His  insubordination  to  General  Washing- 
ton is  well  known,  and  Washington's  indignant  rebuke 
of  him  for  his  ordering  a  retreat  instead  of  a  charge 
18 


138  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

at  the  battle  of  Monmouth.  Tried  by  a  Court  Martial, 
he  was  suspended  from  his  command.  An  insolent  letter 
that  he  wrote  to  Congress  was  followed  by  his  dismission 
from  the  service  ;  and  soon  after  this  he  died  in  Phila- 
delphia, 1782,  October  2.  At  the  time  Lee  was  named  in 
his  honor,  the  gallant  defence  by  Moultrie,  of  the  harbor 
of  Charleston,  S.  C,  June  28,  was  erroneously  attributed 
to  General  Lee,  and  put  in  unfavorable  contrast  with  the 
defeats  on  Long  Island  and  White  Plains,  where  Wash- 
ington had  command. 

There  are  eight  or  ten  other  towns  in  the  United  States 
bearing  this  name,  and  four  or  five  counties,  but  none  so 
named  by  emigrants  from  this  town  in  honor  of  their 
former  home.  Lee  was  the  twenty-first  town  incorpor- 
ated in  Berkshire  County.  Those  incorporated  at  an 
earlier  date,  were,  Sheffield  1733,  Stockbridge  1739,  Great 
Barrington  1742  (as  a  parish),  New  Marlborough  1759, 
Egremontl760  (district), Pittsfield  1761,Tyringhaml762, 
Sandisfield  1762,  Becket  1765,  Richmond  1765,  Lanes- 
borough  1765,  Williamstown  1765,  Lenox  1767,  Peru 
(Partridgefield)  1771,  Windsor  (Gageborough)  1771, 
Alford  1773,  Otis  (Loudoun)  1773,  West  Stockbridge 
1774,  Hancock  (Jericho)  1776,  Washington  1777,  Lee 
1777.  At  the  session  of  the  General  Court  in  May,  1761, 
the  western  part  of  old  Hampshire  County  was  set  off 
as  a  new  county,  after  1761,  June  30,  to  bear  the  name 
of  Berkshire.  The  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  and  General 
Sessions  were  held  at  the  Upper  Parish  (now  Great  Bar- 
rington) and  at  Pontoosuc  (now  Pittsfield).  County  build- 
ings were  erected  at  Great  Barrington,  but  in  1784,  it 
was  ordered  that  the  Courts  should  be  held  at  Lenox. 
But  the  County  buildings  were  not  erected  at  Lenox, 
without  opposition,  and  not  completed  till  1790-1792. 
Numerous  efforts  were  made  to  change  this  location,  Lee 
every  time  voting  against  it,  in  1813,  1824,  1825,  1855. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  139 

In  1875  the  attempt  was  finally  successful,  and  new 
County  buildings  were  erected  at  Pittsfield,  where  also 
now  the  Courts  are  held.  Joseph  Whiton,  of  Lee,  was 
one  of  the  Associate  Justices  of  the  Court  of  Sessions, 
1814-1817,.  and  1819-1828. 

THE  FIRST  SETTLERS   AND   TnEIR    LOCATION. 

The  territory  south  of  Lee  had  been  settled  thirty 
years  ;  Stockbridge,  on  the  west,  twenty  years,  before 
any  English  settlement  on  the  land  within  the  present 
township  lines  of  Lee.  In  1760,  Isaac  Davis  came  from 
Tyringham.  He  located  himself  quite  in  the  south  part 
of  the  town  on  the  banks  of  Hop  Brook,  and  built  the 
first  frame  house  in  town,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Henry  McAllister.  He  died  at  Chenango,  August, 
1801.  Reuben  Pixley,  son  of  Jonathan  Pixley  of 
Great  Barrington,  also  located  in  the  Hoplands,  and 
gave  his  name  to  Pixley's  Mountain.  He  built  where  the 
late  Deacon  Nathan  Bassett  lived,  on  the  farm  now  owned 
by  Hon.  Harrison  Garfield.  John  Coffey,  the  Irishman, 
settled  on  the  farm  lately  occupied  by  James  H.  Royce. 
Hope  Davis,  from  Tyringham,  located  in  the  old  orchard, 
about  46  rods  east  of  Messrs.  May's  paper  mill.  Aaron 
Benedict  and  George  Parker  settled  near  him. 

William  Chanter,  the  Quaker,  had  been  a  Quaker 
preacher  on  the  Cape,  but  silenced  for  some  irregularity. 
He  lived  on  what  is  now  called  the  Snow  farm,  adjoining 
Deacon  Culver's.  He  died  September  10,  1806,  aged  82 
years. 

Mr.  Atkins  took  up  his  abode  nearly  opposite  the  old 
Shaylor  tavern  in  Cape  street.  Lemuel  Crocker,  from 
Barnstable,  found  a  home  where  Wm.  Perry  now  resides. 
Asahel  Dodge  located  north  of  the  old  Barlow  house. 
He  was  a  blacksmith,  and  the  stone  he  used  for  an  anvil 
is   now   part  of  a   stone  wall  near  the  site  of  his  shop. 


140  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Samuel  Stanley  was  a  tanner  and  currier,  and  had  his 
shop  in  a  lot  now  belonging  to  Marshall  Foote,  which 
Stanley  bought  in  1779,  June  16,  of  John  Coltraine,  of 
Tolland,  Conn.,  who  had  bought  the  114  acres  of  John 
Baker,  Jr.,  of  Tolland. 

When  John  Winegar  came  into  town  in  1770,  he  found 
only  thirteen  families  living  on  this  territory.  He  bought 
1771,  April  4,  of  Pelatiah  West  and  Joseph  Hatch,  50 
acres  on  the  west  side  of  the  Housatonic  River.  Peter 
Wilcox,  at  whose  house  the  first  town  meeting  was  held, 
lived  in  "a  log-house  with  only  one  room  in  it,  and  that  not 
so  large  as  some  of  our  parlors."  It  was  on  what  is  now 
Main  street,  corner  Franklin  street,  where  now  stands  the 
house  owned  by  Elizur  Smith,  and  occupied  by  Thomas 
Wilson. 

Jonathan   Foote*    occupied    a    rude    structure   where 

*In  the  Foote  "  Genealogy  "  and  in  Gale's  History  of  Lee,  it  is  stated  that 
Nathaniel  Foote,  the  grandfather  of  this  Jonathan  Foote,  put  Charles  the  Second, 
King  of  England,  into  an  oak  to  shield  him  from  his  pursuers.  Afterwards,  when 
the  King  was  iu  a  situation  to  do  so,  he  remembered  his  preserver,  and  granted 
him  a  tract  of  land  in  Connecticut.  The  Foote  family  have  for  their  coat  of  arms, 
a  design  representing  an  oak  and  Charles  the  Second,  and  Nathan  Foote  endeavor- 
ing to  assist  Charles  into  the  oak.  There  is  a  well  remembered  couplet  in  the  old 
Primer : 

"  The  Royal  Oak,  it  was  the  tree, 

That  saved  his  Royal  Majesty." 

The  story  of  the  oak  is  pleasant  and  plausible,  but  Mr.  H.  W.  Taft  of  Pittsfield 
himself  a  descendant  of  the  hero  of  the  story,  and  an  expert  antiquarian,  desires 
that  we  should  refute  it,  and  we  can  do  no  better  than  insert  his  letter : 

Pittsfield,  August  31,  1877. 
My  Ikar  Sir : — Won't  you  try  to  put  an  end  to  that  absurd  and  impossible  story 
about  the  Foote  emigrant  ancestor,  helping  King  Charles  into  the  oak,  etc.  At 
least  see  to  it  that  it  don't  get  into  the  Lee  History,  and  so  start  out  on  a  new  tour. 
I  think  it  is  dead  sometimes,  and  then  it  starts  off  as  good  as  new,  to  my  infinite 
disgust,  for  he  was  my  ancestor,  and  I  don't  want  him  made  game  of,  and  history 
turned  into  fable.     Here  are  two  or  three  reasons  why  it  can't  well  be  true: 

1.  Nathaniel  Foote,  the  emigrant  and  ancestor  of  the  Lee  Footes,  was  in  Water- 
town  before  September,  1634,  and  never  returned  to  England. 

2.  Charles  2d,  the  oak  tree  man,  was  born  May  29,  1680.  Put  these  two  facts 
together. 

3.  Nathaniel  Foote  died  in  Weathersfield,  in  1644,  when  Charles  was  about  14 
years  old. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  141 

Theron  L.  Foote  now  lives.  Elisha  Freeman  owned  the 
farm  where  his  grandson,  John  B.  Freeman,  now  lives. 
Two  rude  log  huts  stood  near  William  Bartlett's  present 
residence.  In  and  around  the  present  village  site  there 
were  not  five  acres  of  cleared  land.  A  log  tavern,  six- 
teen feet  square,  was  erected  about  this  time. 

1771,  April  4,  Pelatiah  West  and  Joseph  Hatch  sold  to 
Richard  Howk,  of  Kinderhook,  170  acres  of  land  for  £270. 
He  afterwards  bought  other  pieces  till  at  one  time  he  owned 
1,000  acres.  His  son,  Isaac  Howk,  resided  on  the  place 
lately  owned  by  John  C.  Stevens.  His  large  Dutch  barn 
gave  to  his  homestead  the  name  of  the  "  Howk  Barracks," 
and  it  served  as  a  sort  of  landmark  in  this  region.  1774, 
June  1,  Josiah  Yale,  late  of  Wallingford,  Conn.,  bought  of 
William  Andrus,  of  Lenox,  50  acres  of  the  Williams'  or 
Ministers'  Grant.  1773,  December  20,  Jesse  Bradley,  of 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  bought  of  Melatiah  Hatch,  of  Hart- 
wood,  24  1-2  acres  with  1-4  of  the  sawr-mill  on  the  river3 
near  Bradley  street.  Elisha  Bradley,  also,  of  New 
Haven,  bought  land  in  Stockbridge.  1774,  May  25,  Wil- 
liam Ingersoll  sold  to  Aaron  Wormer,  45  acres  in  the 
Hoplancls.  Other  names  of  those  who  came  to  town  dur- 
ing this  period  are  Ball,  Backus,  Barlow,  Bassett,  Gifford, 
Hamblin,  Jenkins. 

"  When  John  Winegar  was  living  at  Crow  Hollow,  he 
was  persuaded  by  an  Indian  to  accompany  him  upon  the 
mountain  to  hunt  deer.  The  Indian  soon  left  Mr.  Wine- 
gar  alone,  and  for  three  days  in  mid-winter,  with  the 
thermometer  below  zero,  he  wandered  without  fire  or  food, 
unable  to  find  his  home.     When  found  by  his  friends,  his 


4.  Tlie  Battle  of  Worcester  {after  which   Charles  hid  in  the  oak),   was  fought 
September  3,  1651,  when  Nathaniel  Foote  had  been  dead  seven  years. 

5.  Nathaniel  was  a  Puritan,  and  if  he  had  been  alive  and  in  England,  would  have 
been  on  Cromwell's  side  and  not  with  Charles. 

There  are  a  great  many  more  reasons,  but  perhaps  these  will  do. 

Yours  truly,  Henry  W.  Taft. 


142  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

feet  and  other  parts  of  his  body  were  so  badly  frozen  as 
to  cause  him  to  be  a  cripple  for  life.  He  however 
recovered  sufficiently  to  attend  to  his  ordinary  business." 
He  was  29  years  old  at  the  time.  He  lost  both  his  feet, 
and  his  constitution  was  shattered  :  yet  he  lived  to  be  55 
years  old,  dying  1798,  March  14. 

"  John  Winegar  built  the  first  grist  mill.  It  was 
erected  a  few  rods  above  the  Columbia  paper  mill.  His 
log  house,  the  eleventh  log  house  in  Lee,  was  built  against 
a  perpendicular  rock  on  the  east  side  of  the  road  as  we 
pass  around  the  cove  beyond  the  mill.  That  rock  served 
as  the  back  part  of  the  house  and  chimney,  which  was  so 
constructed  that  the  wood  could  be  drawn  up  on  the  hill 
in  the  rear,  and  precipitated  down  the  chimney  to  the 
place  for  the  fire.  This  process  saved  the  time  and  labor 
of  cutting  and  splitting  the  wood.  Mr.  Winegar  five 
years  after  built  another  grist  mill,  were  John  McLaugh- 
lin's machine  shop  now  stands,  and  he  also  erected  the 
dwelling-house  lately  standing  in  front  of  it,  which  is  the 
oldest  building  in  town.  When  Mr.  Winegar  built  this 
house,  the  nearest  place  that  he  could  find  stone  for  the 
cellar  was  on  Pixley  Mountain.  The  leaves  and  moss  in 
the  forests  probably  concealed  the  stone  from  public 
view." 

FAMILIES    FROM    CAPE    COD. 

The  Revolutionary  War  brought  peculiar  distress  to 
the  population  of  Cape  Cod.  Not  only  did  they  suffer 
the  burdens  of  the  war,  such  as  fell  upon  the  whole  state, 
the  drain  of  men  and  money,  but  their  principal  occupa- 
tions, fishing  and  coasting,  were  almost  entirely  broken 
up.  With  the  loss  of  all  ordinary  means  of  livelihood,  and 
the  constantly  depreciating  currency,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  seek  some  other  location,  where  willingness  to 
work  and  persevering  diligence  would  be  in  themselves, 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  143 

resources  more  valuable  than  money.  Yet  some  money 
they  seem, to  have  had.  1780,  May  2,  John  Crosby, 
of  Barnstable,  bought  of  Prince  West,  for  £100  silver 
money,  Lot  No.  2  in  Hartwood,  150  acres  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Sylvanus  Gilford's  land. 

Marvelous  stories,  transcending  any  fish  stories,  had 
been  carried  to  Cape  Cod  in  regard  to  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  of  the  new  lands  on  the  Housatonic.  It  was  averred 
that  the  soil  was  so  rich  that  a  sod  hung  up  in  the  sun 
would  drip  grease:  that  hogs  fattened  so  quickly  that 
they  ran  around,  squealing,  "  kill  me  !  kill  me  !  " 

But  the  reality,  was  a  hard  and  trying  experience  of 
obstacles  and  difficulties  which  only  undaunted  persever- 
ance, strong  arms  and  stout  hearts  could  overcome.  The 
snows  were  deep  and  lay  long  on  the  hill-sides.  It  was  no 
easy  matter  to  travel  any  distance,  even  with  the  aid  of 
snow  shoes. 

When  James  Goodspeed  came  in  sight  of  the  log  house 
where  his  Uncle  Hamblin  lived,  he  asked  "  Whose 
hog-pen  is  that  with  a  chimney  to  it?"  "Be  quiet," 
was  the  reply ;  "  that  is  where  your  uncle  lives."  The 
children  were  so  thoroughly  tanned  by  exposure  to  wind 
and  sun,  that  he  took  them  at  first  to  be  Indian  pappooses. 
Many  are  the  family  traditions,  still  handed  down, 
though  now  known  only  to  a  few,  in  relation  to  these 
Cape  Cod  fishermen,  and  their  perils  by  sea  and  land. 
The  grandfathers  of  those  who  are  now  the  grandfathers 
of  this  generation,  told  fifty  years  ago  many  grandfather's 
tales,  that  had  for  the  young  hearers  of  those  days,  and 
for  all  hearers  in  all  time,  that  incommunicable  charm 
which  belongs  to  all  first  experiences.  How  they  laughed, 
as  with  every  narration,  there  came  up  the  vivid  remem- 
brance of  Joe  Crocker,  blown  off  by  the  gases  from  the 
dead  whale  into  which  he  had  thrust  his  spade,  or  the 
appearance  of  this  region  as  they  first  visited  it  in  the 


144  THE    HISTORY    OF   LEE. 

hard  Winter  of  1780,  and  walked  on  snow  shoes  over 
snow  eight  feet  deep. 

The  name  of  Cape  Street  was  given  to  the  eastern 
section  of  the  town,  because  so  largely  occupied  by  people 
from  Cape  Cod.  Capt.  Joseph  Crocker,  who  settled  on 
the  William  Cone  farm,  moved  his  family  from  Cape  Cod 
in  an  ox  cart.  He  and  his  aged  mother  came  in  advance 
of  the  rest  of  the  family,  both  riding  upon  the  same 
horse. 

The  people  lived  in  small  log  houses,  mostly  located 
upon  the  sides  of  the  mountains.  Marked  trees  served 
for  roads,  and  a  tree  felled  so  as  to  fall  across  the  river, 
served  for  a  bridge,  where  such  a  contrivance  was  nec- 
essary or  convenient. 

When  the  later  settlers  came  in,  they  adopted  the  easier 
method  of  sending  their  household  articles  by  vessel  to 
Hudson,  N.  Y.,  whence  they  could  be  transported  with 
less  time  and  fatigue  to  the  new  country.  The  first  burial 
in  the  cemetery  was  of  a  child  of  Mr.  Handy,  who  fell  from 
a  load  of  furniture.  In  crossing  the  river,  the  jolting  of 
the  cart  as  it  struck  a  stone,  threw  her  off.  She  fell  on 
the  stones,  and  was  instantly  lulled.  Some  of  the  furni- 
ture brought  from  the  Cape,  is  still  in  existence.  Some 
of  it  has  been  put  to  strange  uses  ;  most  of  it  has  long 
ago  been  put  out  of  the  way.  Grandmother  Crosby  would 
hardly  recognize  her  old  spinning  wheel,  or  its  rim,  now 
honored  in  Mr.  Henry  Smith's  house  as  a  picture-frame 
for  a  photograph  of  one  of  Thorwaldsen's  celebrated  bas- 
reliefs,  "Night  and  Morning." 

Cape  Street  was  for  a  time  the  most  populous  part  of 
the  town.  Here  lived  the  blacksmith,  shoemaker,  tanner 
and  currier.  Here  it  was  proposed  to  build  the  meeting 
house.  But  "  Dodgetown,"  as  this  section  was  then 
called,  has  seen  a  change  come  "o'er  the  spirit  of  its 
dream."     The  homes  that  once  were  established  in  loving 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 


145 


neighborhood  on  the  hill- top.  have  now  disappeared,  or 
all  fallen  into  ruin,  save  two  or  three.  The  roads  that 
led  to  them,  or  led  past  them,  have  been  discontinued. 
The  unfrequent  traveler  over  the  mountain  road  is  seldom 
seen,  while  the  iron  horse  whizzes  through  the  valley,  and 
large  manufactories  afford  employment  to  hundreds  that 
the  barren  hill-sides  could  not  feed. 

Cornelius  Bassett  and  Nathan  Dillingham,  in  1778, 
built  the  "  Red  Lion"  tavern  on  what  is  now  Mr.  Pease's 
lot.  It  was  occupied  as  a  tavern  stand  till  1833.  This 
was  the  first  two-story  house  built  in  Lee,  and  in  it  was 
the  first  store,  kept  in  the  buttery.  Job  Hamblin  went  to 
Boston  to  get  a  load  of  salt,  and  it  required  forty  days  to 
make  the  journey. 

Barlow  and  Bassett  had  together  bought  a  farm  in 
Sandwich,  on  a  part  of  which  is  now  the  establishment  of 
the  Sandwich  Glass  Company.  Through  some  chicanery 
they  found  themselves  without  any  legal  title  to  the 
property  for  which  they  had  paid,  as  they  supposed,  a 
fair  equivalent.  Abandoning  their  old  home,  they  came 
to  this  newly  opened  territory  and  built  in  this  wilder- 
ness region.  John  Crosby,  who  came  during  this  period, 
was  the  "  house-wright  and  joiner,"  for  the  community 
generally.  Some  of  the  frames  he  put  up  are  still  stand- 
ing. Timber  was  abundant,  when  rafters  as  commonly 
made,  were  seven  inches  in  width  by  nine  in  depth. 

John  Freese,  who  married  Desire  Williams  of  Stock- 
bridge,  and  was  thus  allied  to  "the  blue  blood  "  of  Berk- 
shire County,  was  a  tailor  and  tavern  keeper  in  Egre- 
mont,  in  1776.  He  came  to  this  town  during  the 
Revolutionary  war  and  became  a  very  large  landholder. 
The  house  he  first  occupied  stood  near  the  present  brick 
school-house  of  the  first  district  in  the  Hoplands.  He 
afterwards  lived  on  the  spot  where  is  now  Mr.  Henry  Smith's 
house.  He  owned  that  farm,  and  south  across  the  river 
19 


146  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

to  the  top  of  Beartown  Mountain.  The  road  from  South 
Lee  to  the  present  village  then  came  up  from  the  river 
as  far  west  as  the  brick  school-house.  The  Freese  family 
were  of  Dutch  descent,  among  the  early  settlers  of 
Lunenburgh,  now  Athens,  N.  Y.  With  real  Dutch  fore- 
thought, and  quaint  ideas  of  propriety,  they  brought  with 
them  from  the  old  country,  mahogany  coffins  and  satin 
grave-clothes.  The  family  name  has  entirely  disappeared 
fron  the  town,  since  their  removal  in  1814,  to  Brunswick, 
Ohio.  Miss  Sarah  Goodspeed  is  the  only  immediate 
descendant  left. 

David  Baker,  long  known  as  the  shoemaker  of  the 
town,  came  into  the  place  in  1783,  from  Barnstable.  He 
had  there  done  military  duty  in  the  early  part  of  the 
Revolution.  He  married  Sylvia  Crocker,  and  on  land 
given  her  by  her  father,  John  Crosby  built  a  house  for  the 
newly-wedded  pair.  He  lost  largely  by  the  Continental 
money.  He  gave  a  hundred  dollars  in  bills  for  half  a  dozen 
cups. 

James  Percival,  who  came  from  the  Cape,  and  built  the 
lower  part  of  the  house  where  Captain  Bradley  once  lived, 
went  to  Hudson  on  horseback  by  marked  trees.  The  bag 
of  pork  he  carried  with  him  he  exchanged  for  a  bag  of 
shad.  The  people  from  the  Cape  hankered  after  the 
fish,  so  long  their  customary  food,  and  never  relished  the 
flavor  of  game.  Job  Childs  came  with  Anthony  Good- 
speed  from  Barnstable,  and  spent  the  first  night  on  the 
Crosby  farm,  where  Mr.  Gousset  now  lives.  He  worked 
at  first  for  Mr.  Van  Dusen.  Finally  he  bought  of  Reuben 
Pixley  the  farm,  of  which  he  sold  half  to  Cornelius 
Bassett. 

ORGANIZATION    OF    THE    TOWN. 

It  was  not  till  two  months  after  the  act  of  incorpora- 
tion, that  in  accordance  with  its  provisions,  the  first  town 
meeting  was  held   1777,  December  22,  at  the  house  of 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  147 

Peter  Wilcox,  a  log-house  with  only  one  room.  What 
the  population  was  at  that  time  cannot  now  be  stated 
with  any  certainty;  45  signed  the  petition  for  incor- 
poration, but  between  that  date,  1774,  Jan.  26,  and 
the  organization  of  the  town  in  1777,  many  others  had 
doubtless  come  into  town.  Judging  from  the  votes  for 
governor,  recorded  during  the  first  years,  the  number  of 
persons  resident  in  the  place  and  qualified  to  vote,  could 
not  be  much  more  than  40.  There  was,  perhaps,  a  total 
population  of  about  200.  William  Ingersoll  was  Moder- 
ator of  the  first  town  meeting.  Prince  West  was  chosen 
Clerk.  These  two,  with  three  others,  Jesse  Bradley,  Oli- 
ver West  and  Amos  Porter,  were  chosen  Selectmen. 
William  Ingersoll  wras  chosen  Treasurer  ;  Reuben  Pixley, 
James  Penoyer,  Constables  ;  Daniel  Church,  Job  Hamblin, 
John  Nye,  William  Ingersoll,  Highway  Surveyors;  Abijah 
Toinlinson,  Samuel  Stanley,  Tythingmen  ;  Samuel  Stan- 
ley, Leather  Sealer;  William  Ingersoll,  Jesse  Bradley, 
Oliver  West,  Committee  of  Correspondence. 

1780,  June  15,  we  find  a  record,  indicating,  probably, 
an  evident  increase  in  the  voting  population  of  the  town. 
Having  met  according  to  the  warrant,  the  first  vote 
passed  was  to  adjourn  for  eight  minutes  to  meet  in  Peter 
Wilcox's  barn.  The  next  place  of  meeting  selected  was 
Major  Dillingham's  tavern,  and  then  "the  meeting-house" 
(the  Congregational  Church). 

The  twenty-five  offices  named  in  the  records  of  the 
first  meeting  were  intrusted  to  twelve  officials,  offices  now 
more  desirable,  though  not  perhaps  any  more  eagerly 
sought,  are  in  much  smaller  proportion  to  the  number  of 
office-seekers.  But  here  were  enough  to  give  the  town, 
from  the  start,  a  thorough  organization,  after  the  usual 
fashion  of  Massachusetts  towns.  The  records  of  the  first 
meetings  do  not  show  any  very  great  literary  skill,  or 
knowledge    of    official    routine.     Not   till    1814,    is    the 


148  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

warrant  for  calling  any  town  meeting  entered  upon  record. 
It  is  often  a  matter  of  as  much  interest  to  know  what 
business  was  proposed,  as  what  was  transacted.  Meetings 
were  first  notified  by  posting  a  notice  on  the  whipping 
post  (near  the  meeting-house),  chosen  because  of  its  lo- 
cation ;  not  because  of  suggestive  appropriateness  in  the 
post  itself.  Notices  were  to  be  posted  also  at  the  two 
grist  mills  in  the  town.  Not  until  1816,  is  the  giving  no- 
tice of  town  meeting  on  the  outside  of  the  meeting-house 
and  at  the  inn  of  Win.  Merrill,  at  the  south  part,  suffi- 
cient. The  cost  of  managing  town  affairs  was  ridicu- 
lously small,  as  compared  with  the  present  expenditures. 
1783,  March  3,  voted  to  choose  a  constable  by  bidding 
downwards.  Peter  Wilcox,  for  £8,  agreed  to  take  the 
office.  The  chief  duty  was  not  the  arrest  of  criminals, 
but  the  collection  of  the  taxes.  As  money  was  scarce, 
and  tax  paying  was  no  more  agreeable  then  than  now, 
the  collection  of  the  "  rates  "  was  not  a  specially  desira- 
ble undertaking.  The  constable  was  personally  respon- 
sible for  the  whole  amount  he  was  instructed  to  collect. 
Assessments  were  made  for  the  different  taxes  at  differ- 
ent seasons  of  the  year.  Farm  laborers,  engaged  only  for 
the  Summer  months,  were  disposed  to  slip  out  of  town 
with  their  poll  tax  unpaid.  It  was  no  easier  matter  then 
than  now,  to  adjust  the  proportionate  share  of  public 
expenditures  so  that  no  class  or  no  individual  should  pos- 
sibly escape  paying  their  proper  proportion. 

PERIOD    OF    THE    REVOLUTION. 

The  appointment  of  a  Committee  of  Correspondence, 
so  called,  or  more  fully  designated,  of  Correspondence, 
Inspection  and  Safety,  at  the  first  town  meeting,  indicates 
that  the  organization  of  the  town  was  at  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolutionary  period  of  our  national  history.  The 
battle  of  Lexington,  the  opening  scene  in  this  drama,  was 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  149 

fought  1775,  April  19,  two  years  and  a  half  before  the 
incorporation  of  the  town,  but  the  men  of  the  Glassworks 
Grant  were  equally  ready  with  those  of  the  Hoplancls, 
of  Hartwood,  and  the  incorporated  towns  of  Berkshire 
county,  to  do  their  full  share  of  military  service.  Many 
of  them  had  taken  active  part  in  the  French  and  Indian 
war  from  1754  to  1703. 

1780,  June  19,  the  town  voted  "  to  come  into  a  way  to 
raise  the  men  now  called  for."  Each  one  was  to  have  in 
hand  £12  hard  money.  £108  were  assessed,  to  be  paid 
before  January  1st.  As  a  committee  to  raise  the  nine 
men  required,  the  three  commissioned  officers  of  the  mi- 
litia company  were  chosen.  July  11,  two  men  to  serve 
six  months,  were  to  have  the  same  bounty  other  six 
months  men  had  received.  The  three  months  men  were 
to  have  40s.  per  month  hard  money,  in  addition  to  their 
wages,  or  a  "  grain  equivalent."  This  was  to  be  raised 
i;  by  way  of  fines"  [on  those  who  would  not  volunteer], 
and  if  the  amount  thus  raised  fell  short,  the  town  was  to 
make  up  the  deficiency.  When,  in  connection  with  this, 
we  take  the  fact  that  the  whole  vote  cast  for  governor  at 
this  meeting  numbered  only  30,  we  can  have  some  con- 
ception of  the  extent  of  the  sacrifices  our  fathers  were 
willing;  to  make  to  secure  for  themselves  and  their  chil- 
dren  the  priceless  boon  of  liberty. 

1780,  November  2,  under  a  requisition  from  the  State 
authorities,  demanding  from  each  town  a  certain  number 
of  pounds  of  beef  for  the  army,  it  was  voted  to  raise  for 
this  purpose  £55  in  silver  money.  The  straits  to  which 
the  people  were  driven  appear  evident  from  the  fact  that 
in  1781,  January  20,  the  three  months  men  and  six 
months  men  were  to  receive  orders  on  the  Treasurer  for 
their  bounty.  £6,818  were  to  be  assessed,  but  grain  was 
to  be  received  in  payment  at  fixed  prices.  Wheat  was 
valued  at  47s.  per  bushel,  rye  40,  Indian  corn  26,  oats  27. 


150  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

The  depreciated  Continental  money  had  almost  ceased  to 
have  any  value.  As  General  Washington  is  reported  to 
have  said,  it  took  a  wagon  load  of  money  to  purchase  a 
wagon  load  of  provisions.  So  grievous  were  the  burdens 
that  it  was  voted  to  send  a  petition  to  the  General  Court, 
seeking  some  redress. 

1781,  July  14,  five  men  were  to  be  enlisted  from  this 
town  as  its  quota  for  reinforcing  the  Continental  army. 
The  town,  for  this  purpose,  was  divided  into  four  classes, 
each  class  to  raise  one  man,  and  the  fifth  man  to  be  raised 
by  the  town  at  large,  to  have  the  rank  of  sergeant.  Af- 
ter a  similar  fashion,  the  town  voted  to  comply  with  the 
requisition  made  for  beef  for  the  army ;  six  classes  were 
each  for  themselves  to  provide  their  equal  proportion  of 
beef.  August  28,  it  was  voted  to  raise  £42  to  pay  for 
three  horses  bought  by  the  selectmen,  for  the  use  of  the 
State. 

From  the  Revolutionary  Muster-Roils  in  the  Secre- 
tary's Office  at  Boston,  it  appears  that  all  through  the 
period  of  the  war  the  men  of  Lee  were  often  called  out 
for  duty  as  soldiers  in  the  militia,  and  a  goodly  number 
served  a  three  years'  enlistment  in  the  Continental  Army. 
In  Col.  Patterson's  Regiment,  under  Capt.  W.  Goodrich 
and  Ensign  Isaac  Davis,  6  men  from  Glassworks,  and  1 
from  Hoplands  served  8  months  from  May  5,  1775,  (Roll 
15  :  14),  Nathan  Bennett,  Jesse  Clark,  Fenner  Foote, 
Josiah  Root,  Benjamin  Fuller,  John  Percival,  from  Glass- 
works :  and  Nathan  Davis  from  the  Hoplands.  In  1776, 
May  4,  in  the  list  of  officers  of  the  militia,  in  Berkshire 
County,  we  find  Capt.  Jesse  Bradley  and  Lieutenants  Levi 
Nye  and  Elisha  West,  with  20  men  from  Glassworks. 
(Roll  42  :  177).  The  only  instance  of  reluctance  to  render 
ready  service  at  the  call  of  the  authorities,  is  when  under 
Col.  Simonds,  of  Williamstown,  a  detachment  of  Berk- 
shire   Militia    were    ordered    to  reinforce    the    Northern 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  151 

Army,  May  1,  1777.      There  were  8  privates  from  Glass- 
works who  refused  to  march.     (Roll  42  :  202.) 

They  were  not  in  this,  acting  in  any  very  singular  man- 
ner :  for  the  militia  were  called  out  just  at  planting  time, 
and  food  for  their  families  was  as  pressing  a  duty  as 
the  country's  call  in  its  hour  of  need.  Out  of  345 
men  called  out,  60  refused.  There  were  others  who 
went,  whose  names  appear  in  Capt.  Aaron  Rowley's  Com- 
pany. Later  in  the  year.  1777,  July  8,  in  Capt.  Job 
Wooclbridge's  Company  that  marched  from  Stockbridge, 
are  the  names  of  several  men  from  Glassworks.  A  whole 
company,  not  all  from  Lee,  under  Capt.  Jesse  Bradley, 
were  mustered  into  service  1777,  July  20,  in  Col.  John 
Brown's  Regiment.  Still  others  are  to  be  found  in  Capt. 
Oliver  Belden's  Company,  who  enlisted  1777,  September 
21.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  about  this  time 
the  Battle  of  Bennington  was  fought,  1777,  August  16. 
The  Berkshire  Militia  constituted  no  small  part  of  Gen. 
Stark's  forces  on  that  occasion.  They  participated  also 
in  the  hardships  and  perils  of  the  campaign  that  ended  so 
gloriously  in  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  1777,  October 
17.  In  the  list  of  officers  under  date  of  1778,  April,  Jesse 
Bradley  appears  as  Captain,  Amos  Porter,  First  Lieuten- 
ant, and  Theophilus  Mansfield,  Second  Lieutenant.  The 
names  of  men  from  Lee  are  given  also  in  the  pay-roll  of 
Capt.  Enoch  Noble's  Company,  who  served  at  Peekskill 
N.  Y.,  8  months  from  May  15,  1778.  In  this  year  there 
was,  1778,  August  16,  an  alarm  at  Bennington,  and  the 
militia  were  ordered  out  to  defend  their  homes  against  a 
supposed  invasion.  Lieutenant  Ezekiel  Crocker  was  the 
officer  in  command.  In  1779,  April  1,  a  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  Legislature  report  9  men  from  Lee  in  the 
Continental  Army.  1779,  July  16,  the  muster-master  at 
Springfield  acknowledges  three  men  from  Lee,  whose  de- 
scriptive   list  gives  their  names    and   ages,   as   Jedidiah 


152  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Crocker  18,  Braddock  Williams  20,  John  Ellis  17.  These 
were  in  Capt.  Bradley's  Company,  in  Col.  Rossiter's  Regi- 
ment. 1780,  January  4,  the  Selectmen  of  Lee,  Jesse 
Bradley,  Amos  Mansfield,  and  Josiah  Yale  certify  the  pay- 
ment of  11  men  for  G  months'  service  from  date.  1780, 
August  29,  nine  others  are  registered  as  belonging  to  the 
new  levies  for  6  months.  So  peremptory  was  the  demand 
for  men,  that  the  Legislature  passed  a  law,  1780,  June  22, 
to  raise  immediately  4,726  men.  If  any  man  was  drafted 
who  could  not  pass  muster,  he  was  to  hire  some  able- 
bodied  man  to  take  his  place,  or  pay  a  fine  of  $150.00 
within  24  hours.  1780,  October  18,  there  was  another 
false  alarm  in  Berkshire,  and  Capt.  Amos  Porter's  Com- 
pany of  25  men  started  out  with  ready  courage  to  ward 
off  the  supposed  peril.  In  1781,  enlistments  grew  to  be 
so  infrequent  that  in  accordance  with  an  act  passed  1780, 
December  20,  the  town  was  divided  into  4  classes,  (1781, 
June  1,)  each  class  to  raise  its  quota  by  bounties  offered, 
or  by  volunteers.  These  four  classes  raised,  as  the  select- 
men certify,  £240,  hard  money.  In  the  same  volume  are 
the  receipts  of  men  who  had  received  the  bounty  offered. 
Six  of  them  joined  Capt.  Porter's  Company,  in  Col. 
Rossiter's  Regiment.  Agjain  alarm  came  from  the  north- 
ward,  from  near  Stillwater,  and  the  militia  companies 
(Roll  23  :  186)  of  Lee  and  Lenox  marched  at  once  under 
Capt.  Josiah  Yale  on  what  proved  to  be  another  false 
alarm.  Others  marched  also  with  equal  promptness, 
enlisted  in  Capt.  John  Bacon's  Company :  others  still 
(Roll  21:  175)  enlisted  in  Capt.  Thomas  Ingersoll's 
Company. 

Nathaniel  Bassett  was  born  at  Sandwich,  January  27, 
17">7.  At  the  age  of  17  he  joined  a  Volunteer  Company 
of  50  in  his  native  town,  who  hired  some  one  from  Bos- 
ton, at  their  own  expense,  to  teach  them  military  tactics. 
The  troubles  with  England  were  then  evidently  coming 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  153 

to  a  crisis,  and  young  Bassett  ardently  espoused  his 
country's  cause.  When  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington 
reached  Sandwich,  the  company  were  soon  on  their  way 
to  Boston.  They  had  not  gone  far  before  news  came 
that  the  British  had  retreated,  and  the  company  returned. 
Their  services  were  soon  needed  for  the  defence  of  the 
coast.  Their  duties  were  performed  voluntarily,  without 
compensation.  In  the  course  of  the  year,  young  Nathaniel 
Bassett  entered  the  regular  service  under  Captain  Elisha 
Nye.  He  was  stationed  on  Dorchester  Heights,  and  was 
in  the  first  boat-load  under  Major  Sprout  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  fort  abandoned  by  the  British.  He  shipped  on 
board  the  privateering  brig  "  Cobbett,"  but  to  escape  the 
British  ship  "  Milford,"  the  brig  was  run  ashore  on  the  coast 
of  Nova  Scotia.  The  shipwrecked  crew  suffered  great 
hardships  in  making  their  escape,  but  Bassett  finally 
reached  home  only  to  enlist  at  once  in  the  army.  He 
was  stationed  at  Boston  and  Providence  in  '77,  under 
Captain  Palmer.  In  '80,  the  urgent  necessity  of  his 
country  once  more  called  him  to  military  duty.  He  had 
been  up  the  Hudson  and  across  the  country  to  Berk- 
shire County,  and  here  hired  out  to  a  blacksmith  Learn- 
ing of  his  knowledge  of  the  military  art,  his  employer* 
offered  to  give  him  his  time  if  he  would  enlist.  He  was 
ordered  in  the  first  place  to  Great  Barrington,  thence  to 
Claverack,  and  finally  to  West  Point.  He  was  so  much 
better  acquainted  with  tactics  than  his  captain  was,  that 
he  acted  as  prompter  as  well  as  drill-master.  In  pursu- 
ance of  Arnold's  plan  to  scatter  the  troops  and  thus 
weaken  the  place,  he  was  sent  one  of  a  company  of  sixty 
men  under  Lieutenants  Walker  and  Tafts  to  Verplanck's 
Point.  Here  Mr.  Bassett  with  a  few  comrades,  dragged  a 
cannon  through  the  woods  to  the  river's  brink,  and  com- 
menced firing  on  the  British  ship  "  Vulture,"  which  had 
brought  Andre  from  New  York  to  consult  with  Arnold. 
20 


154  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

This  caused  the  vessel  to  drop  down  the  river,  and  so 
necessitated  Andre's  crossing  the  river  and  attempting  to 
reach  New  York  by  land  in  disguise.  His  capture  fol- 
lowed and  Arnold's  flight.  Mr.  Bassett  saw  Arnold  as  he 
passed  in  a  boat  to  embark  on  the  "  Vulture."  About  1780, 
Mr.  Bassett  became  a  resident  of  Lee,  and  in  his  death 
(1845)  all  felt  that  they  had  lost  one  devoted  to  the 
public  good  and  interested  in  the  highest  welfare  of  the 
community  and  of  individuals. 

Lemuel  Barlow,  who  came  to  town  in  the  Spring  of 
1775,  went  in  July  as  a  soldier,  but  did  not  serve  long 
enough  to  secure  a  pension.  Captain  Jesse  Bradley  was 
his  captain.  Captain  Bradley's  papers  were  burned  after 
his  death,  and  the  record  of  many  important  facts  was 
destroyed. 

John  Percival  is  remembered  as  another  Revolutionary  , 
soldier  ;  Fenner  Foote  was  one  who  shared  the  privations 
and  perils  of  the  disastrous  expedition  to  Canada,  in  the 
Winter  of  1776-7.  A  part  of  Colonel  Patterson's  com- 
mand at  Dorchester  Heights,  volunteered  for  the  expedi- 
tion to  Quebec,  under  Arnold,  up  the  Kennebec  and 
through  the  wilderness.  Fenner  Foote  used  to  say  that 
he  suffered  more  in  this  expedition  than  to  have  died 
twice. 

"  Cornelius  Bassett  was  for  a  time  engaged  in  privateer- 
ing- He  succeeded  in  capturing  a  prize,  which  brought 
him  £100,  and  so  desirous  was  he  to  keep  up  the  credit 
of  the  State,  that  he  invested  the  whole  of  this  sum  in 
the  depreciating  Continental  money.  Afterwards  he 
exchanged  it  for  a  watch,  which  he  gave  for  the  place 
now  owned  by  Sheriff  Pease." 

"  Captain  Amos  Porter  was  a  resolute  man.  He  was 
active  in  both  the  French  and  the  Revolutionary  wars. 
He  expended  a  large  share  of  his  property  in  the  support 
of  his  company  ;  and  when  peace  was  declared,  he  led  his 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  155 

Company  of  sixty-four  men  up  to  Toucey's,  and  treated 
them  each  with  a  bowl  of  grog  at  $60  a  bowl,  making  a 
bill  of  $3,840." 

"  Josiah  Bradley  (14  years  of  age),  enlisted  under  Col- 
onel Brown,  and  was  at  the  battle  of  Fort  Stanwix.  In  the 
confusion  of  the  defeat,  an  Indian  chased  him  for  several 
miles,  until  at  length  he  turned  and  fired  in  the  direction 
of  the  Indian.  Not  being  troubled  any  more  with  his 
pursuer,  Mr.  Bradley,  through  life,  looked  back  to  the 
event  with  some  compunctions  of  conscience,  fearing  that 
he  might  have  killed  a  man." 

When  Asahel  Foote  left  the  Revolutionary  Army,  he 
was  a  young  soldier  16  years  old  and  of  a  daring  spirit. 
When  he  came  to  the  bridge  over  the  Housatonic  River 
on  West  Park  Street,  only  the  string-pieces  of  the  bridge 
were  in  place,  but  not  a  plank  on  them.  In  the  darkness 
of  the  night  he  rode  his  horse  safely  over  one  of  the 
string-pieces  unconscious  of  the  danger. 

Joseph  Handy  served  on  the  quota  of  Pittsfield  in  Cap- 
tain Stoddard's  Company,  Colonel  Vose's  Regiment,  three 
years  from  April  11,  1777.  He  enlisted  on  the  quota  of 
Lee,  July  26,  1781,  to  serve  three  years.  His  widow  was 
the  first  person  supported  by  the  town. 

In  1841  there  were  six  Revolutionary  pensioners  living 
in  Lee  whose  names  and  ages  were :  Joseph  Willis  82, 
Reuben  Marsh  78,  Nathaniel  Bassett  84,  Joel  Hayden  78, 
Cornelius  Bassett,  79,  Levi  Robinson,  78.  All  have  rtow 
departed,  but  they  still  live  in  the  example  of  courage 
and  patriotism  which  they  furnished  posterity. 

The  Tories  in  Lee  were  few,  and  perhaps  we  ought  to 
let  their  names  rest  in  oblivion,  but  one  incident  so  well 
illustrates  the  spirit  of  the  times  that  we  chronicle  it. 
William  Bradley,  a  brother  of  Captain  Jesse  Bradley, 
moved  to  Lanesboro.  He  was  a  Tory.  When  Captain 
Bradley  went  with  his  company  to  Bennington,  he  came 


156  THE    HISTORY   OF   LEE. 

to  his  brother  William's  about  dinner  time,  and  the  Tory 
was  compelled  to  furnish  dinner  for  the  company,  with 
the  threat  of  pulling  down  his  fence  if  the  dinner  was 
not  promptly  served. 

THE    SHAYS    REBELLION. 

By  the  long-continued  war  and  the  constant  drain  upon 
the  energies  and  resources  of  the  country,  the  people  had 
become  impoverished.  The  laws  then  in  force  unduly 
favoring  the  creditor,  not  as  now  the  debtor,  were  addi- 
tional causes  of  the  general  distress.  The  passage  of  the 
"  Tender  Act,"  1782,  July  3,  only  increased  the  evil  it 
was  designed  to  remedy,  by  making  neat  cattle  and  other 
articles  a  legal  tender.  In  Lee,  there  was  especial  embar- 
rassment arising  out  of  the  complications  in  the  methods 
adopted  towards  the  close  of  the  war,  in  raising  men  by 
classes,  and  paying  the  large  bounties  demanded.  The 
people  of  Berkshire  had  been  the  first  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Revolution  to  close  the  courts.  There  had 
been  "  no  Probate  Courts  from  1774  to  1778,  and  during 
the  last  two  of  these  years  no  deeds  were  recorded."  Not 
till  1779,  did  Berkshire  County  people  consent,  and  then 
only  by  a  small  majority  of  the  convention,  to  have  this 
legal  machinery  put  in  operation.  When  the  Courts  were 
re-opened  and  the  severities  of  the  law  began  to  press 
heavily  upon  the  people,  a  spirit  of  discontentment  and 
revolt  was  easily  fomented.  Daniel  Shays,  who  had  been 
a  Captain  in  the  Continental  Army  at  West  Point,  but 
involved  in  some  questionable  pecuniary  transactions  and 
dishonorably  dismissed,  put  himself  forward  as  a  ring- 
leader in  the  disturbances.  He  has  given  his  name,  but 
no  enviable  fame  to  the  series  of  acts  of  mob  violence 
and  misguided  opposition  to  law,  known  in  our  history  as 
the  Shays  Rebellion.  Mr.  Gale  tells  the  story  of  the  part 
taken  during  this  period  by  some  of  the  people  of  this 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  157 

town,  not  to  the  advantage  of  their  reputation  for  moral 
sense  or  courage,  but  the  great  majority  of  the  insurgents 
were  doubtless  honest  men.  The  war  had  demoralized 
society  in  a  measure,  and  poverty  goaded  them  on  to  acts 
of  violence  on  which,  in  other  circumstances,  they  would 
have  frowned. 

In  the  Autumn  of  1786,  early  in  September,  a  party  of 
the  insurgents,  800  in  number,  assembled  at  Great  Bar- 
rington,  broke  up  the  Court  and  opened  the  jail.  Major 
Gen.  Lincoln  was  put  in  command  of  a  body  of  3,000 
militia  ordered  to  rendezvous  at  Worcester.  1787,  Janu- 
ary 19,  1,200  militia  under  Gen.  Shepard,  assembled  at 
Springfield  at  the  same  time.  Lincoln  finding  no  occa- 
sion for  delay  at  Worcester,  pushed  on  to  Springfield, 
dispersed  the  insurgents  collected  there  under  Shays, 
January  25,  and  scattered  in  flight  from  Petersham,  Feb- 
ruary 4,  the  small  remnants  that  rallied  there.  Then  he 
pushed  on  to  Berkshire  County.  Eli  Parsons  had  400 
Berkshire  malcontents  under  his  command.  February 
15,  he  issued  a  circular  calling  upon  his  fellow-sufferers  to 
resent  unto  relentless  bloodshed,  but  the  men  who  re- 
sented paying  taxes  or  their  honest  debts,  because  they 
were  so  burdensome,  were  equally  reluctant  to  part  with 
any  of  their  own  blood  in  defence  of  their  property. 
When  the  Lee  men  under  Parsons  saw  the  rabble  that 
constituted  the  bulk  of  Shays'  forces  at  Springfield,  they 
were  ashamed  of  their  company,  and  immediately  left  for 
home.  While  Lincoln  was  on  his  march,  250  insurgents 
collected  in  the  town  of  Lee  to  stop  the  Courts.  "This 
company  finally  concentrated  their  forces  on  the  Perry 
Place,  on  Cape  street,  now  owned  by  Moses  Culver.  Gen. 
Patterson  at  the  head  of  the  Government  forces  came 
from  Stockbridge,  and  took  his  position  upon  Mr.  Ham- 
blin's  hill,  on  the  opposite  (the  north)  side  of  the  Green- 
water  river.     This  hero  had  engaged  Dr.  Sargent,  witli  a 


158  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

company  of  assistants  as  the  surgeons  of  his  army.  They 
occupied  Lyman  Foote's  house  :  and  while  the  army  was 
preparing  for  battle,  the  surgeons  were  tearing  up  sheets 
and  other  linen  for  bandages  for  the  wounded,  preparing 
tables,  blocks,  and  other  necessary  things  pertaining  to 
their  work.  Gen.  Patterson's  men  had  cannon,  but  the 
Shays'  men  had  none.  To  supply  this  deficiency,  they 
put  Mrs.  Perry's  yarn-beam  upon  a  pair  of  wheels,  and 
drew  it  up  back  of  the  house.  The  ramrod  and  other 
appendages  for  cannon  in  actual  service,  were  exhibited 
to  their  opponents  in  the  most  impressive  way.  The 
ignited  tar-rope  was  freely  swung  in  the  air,  and  the  men 
were  running  in  every  direction  to  put  everything  in 
order  for  battle :  and  when  Peter  Wilcox,  their  leader, 
with  a  stentorian  voice,  heard  by  their  enemies,  gave  the 
order  to  fire,  the  gallant  Patterson  with  his  men  fled  for 
life  before  Mrs.  Perry's  old  yarn-beam."  This  tradition 
must  be  received  with  some  discount.  In  Dr.  Field's 
history  it  is  said,  that  the  Shays'  men  dispersed  under 
assurance  from  Gen.  Patterson,  that  those  indicted  should 
be  tried  in  their  own  county.  Tradition  affirms  that  Dr. 
Lewis  of  Stockbridge,  who  was  present  to  act  as  surgeon, 
went  freely  from  one  party  to  the  other,  and  acted  as  the 
ambassador  of  peace.  Gen.  Patterson  was  a  brave  and 
judicious  man,  and  managed  the  affair  with  the  purpose 
and  hope  of  preventing  any  bloodshed. 

"  Peter  Wilcox  and  Nathaniel  Austin  were  arrested  for 
treason,  and  cast  into  our  County  prison,  where  they  lay  for 
several  months.  Their  wives  were  allowed  to  visit  them 
occasionally,  and  carry  to  them  articles  of  food.  On  one 
occasion,  these  women  carried  to  their  husbands  a  loaf  of 
bread  in  which  was  concealed  the  saw  used  in  amputating 
the  frozen  feet  of  John  Winegar.  Early  the  next  morn- 
ing, Wilcox  and  Austin  having  sawTed  off  the  irons  upon 
their  feet,   passed  out  of  prison,  dressed  in  their  wives' 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  159 

clothes.  When  the  jailor  carried  in  breakfast  to  his 
prisoners,  the  men  were  gone,  and  in  their  place  were 
the  wives,  in  their  husband's  clothes.  The  women  were 
soon  after  this  released.  Peter  Wilcox  repaired  to  a  cave 
on  Henry  Bowen's  farm,  in  the  rear  of  the  Academy, 
where  his  friends  fed  him  till  the  civil  authorities  with- 
drew the  prosecution.  The  cave  to  this  day  is  known  as 
"  Peter's  Cave." 

Still  another  ludicrous  affair  has  been  commemorated 
in  local  tradition,  and  is  told  at  length  in  Gale's  History : 
"The  house  now  occupied  by  T.  L.  Foote,  was  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Shays  party  for  sometime  after  "  Mother 
Perry's  victory."  Most  of  the  Lee  people  sympathized 
with  that  party.  The  court  party  was  strong  in  Stock- 
bridge,  and  scouting  parties  from  Stockbridge  frequented 
the  farm  of  Mr.  Foote  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  those 
who  had  driven  them  from  Hamblin's  Hill.  This  became 
intolerable  to  the  Shays'  party,  and  they  were  determined 
to  stop  it.  Lovisa  Foote  and  Sarah  Ellis,  two  young 
ladies  of  Lee,  put  on  gentlemen's  coats  and  hats,  and  with 
guns  in  hand,  sallied  forth  in  the  first  of  the  evening, 
when  they  saw  two  gentlemen  riding  upon  horseback. 
On  their  arrival  these  girls  ordered  them  to  dismount : 
they  refused  at  first,  but  on  the  presentation  of  the  unloaded 
guns  in  the  ladies'  hands,  with  the  assurance  that  if  they 
did  not  obey,  they  should  receive  the  contents  of  their 
guns,  the  gallant  fellows  dismounted.  They  were  or- 
dered to  enter  the  house,  and  there  it  was  ascertained 
that  they  were  Ebenezer  Jenkins,  Jr.,  and  Crocker  Tay- 
lor, two  young  bucks  of  Lee,  and  intimate  acquaintances 
of  their  captors.  The  Shays  men  were  molested  but  lit- 
tle after  this." 

February  26,  a  numerous  company  of  insurgents  under 
Capt.  Perez  Hamblin,  entered  Berkshire  County  from 
New  York,  and  the  next  day  reached  Stockbridge.    There 


160  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

they  indulged  in  indiscriminate  pillage.  A  portion  be- 
came too  drunk  to  proceed  farther.  The  remainder 
began  their  march  for  Great  Barrington  with  the  pris- 
oners they  had  taken.  The  debtors  in  the  jail  were  all 
released.  But  the  militia  company  of  Sheffield  had  col- 
lected under  Lt.  Goodrich,  and  joined  by  the  Great  Bar- 
rington company,  pushed  on  towards  Egremont  in  pursuit, 
as  they  supposed,  of  the  insurgent  force.  It  turned  out, 
however,  that  they  themselves  were  the  pursued,  not  the 
pursuers.  When  the  fact  was  ascertained,  a  halt  was 
ordered,  and  an  attempt  made  to  form  in  order  of  battle. 
But  the  insurgent  forces  came  up  in  the  temporary  con- 
fusion, and  opened  fire.  After  a  brief  engagement,  the 
insurgents  turned  and  fled.  Thirty  of  them  were  wounded ; 
two  killed  outright.  One  of  them  was  probably  Ozias 
Wilcox,  a  son  of  Peter  Wilcox  of  Lee,  and  a  soldier  of  the 
Revolution,  worthy  of  a  better  fate.  He  is  said  in  the 
town  records  to  have  been  killed  at  Sheffield,  March  26, 
1787. 

This  was  the  last  display  of  force  ;  in  fact,  the  only 
actual  fight  during  the  Rebellion.  The  adjoining  States 
took  prompt  measures  for  the  suppression  of  any  at- 
tempted mob  violence,  and  for  the  apprehension  of  fugi- 
tives from  Massachusetts.  The  Legislature  of  this  State 
passed  a  law  excluding  from  the  jury  box  any  guilty  of 
favoring  the  Rebellion.  Three  Commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed to  grant  indemnity  to  all  concerned  on  their  sub- 
scribing the  oath  of  allegiance,  excepting  only  those  par- 
ticipants who  had  fired  upon  or  killed  any  citizens.  The 
Supreme  Judicial  Court,  for  the  County  of  Berkshire, 
found  six  persons  guilty  of  high  treason  and  condemned 
them  to  death.  One  of  these  was  Peter  Wilcox,  Jr., 
of  Lee.  None  suffered  the  execution  of  the  sentence. 
Four  were  pardoned.  The  punishment  of  the  others 
was  postponed,  and  finally  remitted.     An  act  of  general 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  161 

indemnity  passed,  1788,  June  13,  is  the  final  record  of  the 
extirpation  of  all  rebellious  sentiment.  The  names  of 
several  are  recorded  on  the  town  books  as  having  taken 
the  oath  of  allegiance.  It  is  said  that  when  John  Ellis, 
who  lived  at  the  Ingram  place,  was  cited  before  Judge 
Walker,  he  turned  the  whole  thing  into  a  farce,  repeat- 
ing after  the  judge's  administration  of  the  oath,  "  You 
will  say,"  etc,  {iYou  will  say,"  "I  solemnly  swear,"  etc., 
"  Solemn  affair." 

CONSTITUTION    MAKING    AND    MENDING. 

The  State  Constitution  recommended  by  the  Legisla- 
ture of  1778-9,  was  rejected  by  the  people.  1779, March 
9,  the  town  "  voted  that  we  hold  ourselves  bound  to  sup- 
port the  Civil  Authority  of  this  State  for  the  sum  of  one 
year  and  Bound  to  obey  the  laws  of  this  State."  Sep- 
tember 1,  1779,  a  Convention  of  Delegates  elected  by 
the  people  to  make  a  Constitution  and  Frame  of  Govern- 
ment, met  at  Cambridge,  and  completed  their  labors 
1780,  March  2.  The  people  ratified  their  work,  and 
adopted  the  Constitution  which  has  from  that  time  been 
the  organic  law  of  the  State. 

At  the  Convention  in  Boston,  1788,  January  9  to  Feb- 
ruary 7,  the  United  States  Constitution,  as  adopted  by 
the  Convention  which  met  at  Philadelphia  in  May,  1787, 
was  discussed  and  ratified.  Capt.  Jesse  Bradley  was  the 
delegate  from  Lee. 

In  1820,  upon  the  separation  of  Maine  from  Massachu- 
setts, a  second  State  Constitutional  Convention  met  at 
the  State  House  in  Boston,  November  15,  to  make  such 
a  revision  as  was  then  rendered  necessary.  Of  the  four- 
teen amendments  proposed,  nine  were  ratified  by  popular 
vote.  The  town  voted  against  the  Convention,  8  to  57. 
The  Convention  proposed  by  the  Legislature  of  1851,  was 
negatived  by  the  popular  vote,  of  63,000  Yeas,  and 
21 


162  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

60,000  Nays.  The  Convention  which  met  May  4,  1853, 
proposed  various  amendments,  all  of  which  were  rejected 
by  the  popular  vote.  At  this  Convention,  Lee  was  ably 
represented  by  Hon.  Samuel  A.  Hulbert.  Under  the 
provision  of  the  Constitution,  as  revised  in  1820,  the 
Legislature  has  from  time  to  time  proposed  various 
specific  amendments  which  have  been  ratified  by  the 
people. 

The  union  of  the  several  States  in  the  prosecution  of 
the  war  for  Independence  had  been  authoritatively 
effected  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  adopted  by  a 
Congress  of  Delegates,  1777,  November  15,  though  not 
ratified  by  all  the  States  till  1781,  March  1.  The  evils 
incident  to  so  imperfect  a  bond  of  union  became  intoler- 
able, and  a  Constitutional  Convention  was  called  to  per- 
fect a  better  national  organization.  After  a  session  of 
four  months,  its  work  was  completed,  1787,  September 
17.  Massachusetts  adopted  the  Constitution  after  care- 
ful deliberation,  by  a  Convention  of  Delegates  at  Worces- 
ter, 1788,  February  6.  Rhode  Island,  last  of  all,  voted  in 
favor  of  its  adoption,  1790,  May  29.  By  its  terms  it 
went  into  operation  in  1789,  April  30,  when  General 
Washington  was  inaugurated  the  first  President.  Those 
who  favored  the  centralizing  spirit  of  the  Constitution 
became  known  as  Federalists.  Those  preferring  a  fuller 
recognition  of  State  Sovereignty  were  called  Republicans. 
The  Federalists  at  first  took  office;  but  in  1800,  Jefferson, 
the  Republican  candidate,  was  chosen  President.  He 
and  his  party  favored  the  French,  as  the  Federalists  did 
the  English.  These  two  parties  continued  till  1820,  Avhen 
Monroe,  the  candidate  of  the  Republican  party,  received 
every  electoral  vote  but  one.  During  these  years  Lee 
was  one  of  the  strongholds  of  Federalism. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  163 

THE    WAR    OF    1812. 

The  growing  importance  and  success  of  the  mercantile 
and  commercial  enterprises  of  our  people,  after  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  brought  them  into  collision  with 
the  English  domineering  spirit  and  English  commercial 
interests.  The  right  of  impressment  was  claimed  by 
English  naval  officers  wherever  English  subjects  were  to 
be  found,  and  with  a  view,  perhaps,  to  checking  Irish  em- 
igration and  to  provoke  a  contest  which  the  English  min- 
istry arrogantly  presumed  would  speedily  end  in  the 
re-subjugation  of  the  revolted  colonies.  Vessels  were 
continually  searched,  and  men  carried  off,  with  all  the 
petty  wanton  indignity  a  British  naval  officer  was  dis- 
posed to  inflict.  In  1806  and  1807,  the  Milan  decrees 
of  Napoleon,  and  the  orders  in  council  of  the  English 
Government,  mere  paper  blockades,  made  the  commerce 
of  the  United  States  subject  to  seizure  and  confiscation. 
Added  to  these  difficulties,  the  embargo  laid  by  Congress 
upon  American  ships  in  port  and  the  consequent  total 
destruction  of  our  commerce,  caused  great  losses  and 
distress. 

Party  feeling  ran  very  high,  especially  in  the  years 
preceding  the  war  of  1812,  and  during  that  war.  'Squire 
Ingersoll  (William)  in  1812,  then  89  years  old,  was  car- 
ried to  the  meeting-house  to  vote.  Seated  in  an  arm- 
chair, he  was  put  upon  an  ox-sled  and  brought  to  the 
meeting-house,  and  deposited  his  ballot  while  seated  in 
his  chair.  At  the  presidential  election  in  1812,  the  vote 
of  Lee  stood  180  for  the  Federal  candidates  to  14  for  the 
Democratic. 

1812,  June  18,  a  Proclamation  of  War  against  Great 
Britain,  was  passed  by  a  large  majority  in  Congress. 
Though  the  war  was  not  a  popular  measure,  and  the  peo- 
ple were  not  prepared  for  it,  it  was  carried  on  with  spirit, 
for  it   was   felt    that    Great    Britain's    arbitrariness    and 


164  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

aggressions  could  no  longer  be  endured.  Some  Lee  fam- 
ilies had  emigrated  to  Ohio,  and  it  is  well  remembered 
yet  by  some,  how  eagerly  they  waited  news  of  Perry's 
defeat  or  victory  on  Lake  Erie.  Goods  were  all  ready  to 
be  carted  away,  and  houses  abandoned,  if  his  bravery 
had  not  made  him  triumphant  in  the  famous  naval  battle 
of  September  10,  1813.  President  Madison,  in  1814, 
July  4,  called  for  93,500  militia ;  10,000  from  Massachu- 
setts. Governor  Strong  refused  to  send  them  out  of  the 
State.  Great  fears  were  entertained  for  the  safety  of 
Boston,  when  it  was  supposed  that  a  British  fleet  could 
do  to  that  city  what  was  done  at  Baltimore  and  at  Wash- 
ington. 

Fourteen  men  were  drafted  from  the  two  militia  com- 
panies of  the  town  as  its  quota,  1814,  September  10. 
They  were  mostly  from  the  North  Company ;  they  joined 
with  others  to  form  a  Company,  of  which  John  Nye  was 
chosen  captain. *  There  was  great  alarm  felt  for  the 
safety  of  those  compelled  to  enter  a  service  which  was 
regarded  by  many  in  New  England  as  an  unjustifiable 
and  odious  mismanagement  of  the  nation's  resources. 
But  the  six  weeks  spent  in  Boston  harbor,  in  monotonous 
drill,  were  quite  as  devoid  of  interest  as  of  danger.  Ma- 
jor General  Joseph  Whiton,  of  South  Lee,  was  the  com- 
manding officer.  He  maintained  good  discipline.  On 
one  occasion,  having  gone  to  Boston,  it  was  late  at  night 
when  he  returned.  A  guard  had  been  stationed  on  the 
Neck  and  would  not  let  him  pass  without  the  countersign. 
Colonel  Dwight  went  two  miles  to  get  it.  The  soldier 
was  from  Williamstown,  and  General  Whiton  commended 
him  for  his  fidelity. 

*The  others  names  were  Thomas  E.  M.  Bradley,  John  Olmsby,  Samuel  D.  Stur- 
gis,  J.  M.  Remeley,  Silas  Garfield,  John  Norcort,  Eben  C.  Bradley,  Horace  Treat, 
John  Woolly,  John  Ilowk  3d,  Benjamin  G.  Osborn,  John  Allen,  Arthur  Perry  and 
Keith. 


THE    HISTORY    OF   LEE.  165 

THE    OLD    MILITIA    AND    TRAINING    DAYS. 

The  laws  of  the  State  required  the  organization  of  the 
citizens  capable  of  doing  military  duty,  for  the  purpose 
of  enrollment  and  training.  It  was  distinct  from  the  po- 
litical or  municipal  organization,  and  few  allusions  to  the 
militia  appear  on  the  town  records.  A  vote  was  passed 
1784,  March  8,  not  to  divide  the  militia  company,  but  as 
no  one  can  tell  what  a  town-meeting  will  do,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  next  year,  1785,  May  18,  the  Selectmen 
and  militia  officers  were  instructed  to  divide  the  town 
into  two  companies.  The  old  line  of  the  Hoplands,  as  far 
as  Mr.  Howk's,  was  taken  as  the  dividing  line  of  the  town, 
and  from  thence  the  middle  of  the  road  east  to  Becket. 
So  exact  was  this  geographical  division  of  the  population, 
that  there  were  112  men  in  the  North  Company,  113  in 
the  South  Company.  Capt.  David  Porter  was  the  captain 
of  the  North  Company  at  this  time.  Capt.  Thomas 
Crocker  commanded  the  South  Company.  These  two 
companies  continued  thus  to  divide  the  town,  and  a  gen- 
erous rivalry  was  the  natural  result. 

In  1810,  it  was  found  necessary  to  re-organize  the  mi- 
litia system  of  the  State.  But  about  this  time,  also,  ap- 
pear physician's  certificates,  at  $2  each,  which  released 
the  holder  from  the  duty  of  training.  The  war  of  1814 
revived,  in  a  measure,  the  military  spirit  in  the  commu- 
nity, but  10  years  brought  about  such  social  changes  that 
the  Selectmen  were  ordered  to  sell  all  the  powder  on  hand, 
secure  the  other  military  stores  in  casks,  and  deposit 
them  for  safe  keeping  under  the  stairs  in  the  meeting- 
house. 

Twice  a  year,  the  active  militia  were  warned  out  to  gen- 
eral training.  It  was  a  day  of  excitement  to  the  boys, 
who  gathered  from  far  and  near  to  see  the  "doings."  If 
any  boy  had  a  penny  to  spend,  it  was  as  much  as  he  ex- 
pected, and    a  sixpence    was   enough  in  his  opinion    to 


166  TIIE    niSTORY    OF    LEE. 

make  him  feel  as  rich  as  Croesus.  The  parade  ground 
was  the  then  open  field  north  of  the  church,  Barnabas 
Adams'  ten-acre  lot.  There  was  not  often  "a  general 
muster  "  at  Lee.  There  was  company  drill  in  the  morn- 
ing, dinner  at  twelve,  dress  parade  and  battalion  drill  in 
the  afternoon.  During  the  arduous  duties  of  the  day  the 
men  were  refreshed  with  pailsful  of  liquor  furnished  at 
the  expense  of  the  officers ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  train- 
ing, a  few  words  of  compliment  were  expected  from  the 
captain.  Election  to  military  office  was  sought  in  those 
days  as  a  means  of  political  preferment ;  but  gradually  the 
system  became  not  only  inefficacious  in  drilling  soldiers, 
but  odious  from  the  abuses  which  crept  in.  Training  day 
was  a  day  of  drunkenness  and  confusion.  It  was  difficult 
to  find  any  who  would  consent  to  take  office.  Vote  after 
vote  would  be  taken,  but  no  one  would  accept.  Jep- 
thah  Kellogg's  speech,  when  he  was  elected,  has  been 
handed  clown  as  an  example  of  the  prevailing  feeling : 
"  I  don't  thank  you,  and  I  won't  serve  you." 

All  the  idlers  of  the  community  gathered  on  training 
day  for  a  gala  time.  Booths  were  built,  and  cider  and 
ginger-bread,  sold  to  the  thirsty  and  hungry  :  sometimes 
articles  mysteriously  disappeared  without  being  sold,  as 
on  one  occasion  when  a  huckster's  back  was  turned,  a 
horseman  rode  up  to  the  stand,  stuck  his  sword  through 
the  pile  of  cakes  and  carried  them  off  as  a  trophy.  It 
must  be  confessed  that  a  military  display,  the  horses  and 
feathers  of  the  cavalry,  the  uniforms,  and  glittering  bayo- 
nets of  the  infantry,  the  martial  music,  and  the  roar  of 
cannon,  have  something  in  them  bewitching  to  the  com- 
mon mind  ;  but  the  training  days  occupied  much  time,  and 
were  accompanied  with  so  much  drunkenness  and  rowdy- 
ism, that  the  best  men  in  the  community  came  to  regard 
them  as  a  nuisance,  and  these  gala  seasons  became  obso- 
lete about  the  year  1830. 


TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  167 

The  interest  of  the  community  in  military  drill  could 
not  long  be  maintained,  when  assured  peace  at  home  and 
abroad  made  military  duty  obnoxious,  because  useless, 
and  worse  than  useless.  The  trainings  of  the  militia 
became  occasions  for  drunkenness  and  degenerated  finally 
into  such  disgraceful  buffooneries  that  their  suppression 
was  effected  none  too  soon.  The  system  not  only  did 
not  train  good  soldiers,  it  made  bad  men  of  many  of  them. 
Sometimes  ramrods,  in  some  awkward  fellow's  haste, 
would  be  left  in  the  musket,  and  when  fired,  pass 
through  some  poor  unfortunate's  body.  "  The  last  mus- 
ter in  this  vicinity  was  at  Stockbridge,  in  1830.  The 
North  Lee  Company  wTas  commanded  by  Captain  Thomas 
E.  M.  Bradle}7,  with  Dickinson  Graves  as  Lieutenant ;  South 
Lee  Company  trained  under  Captain  Zach.  Winegar, 
detailed  that  day  to  act  as  Major,  leaving  his  command  to 
Lieutenant  Henry  Smith,  assisted  by  First  Sergeant  Har- 
rison Garfield,  and  Corporal  Barnabas  Hinckley.  William 
P.  Hamblin  was  Lieutenant  of  a  Cavalry  Company." 

DEVELOPMENT    OF    MANUFACTURING   INDUSTRIES. 

With  the  close  of  the  War  of  1812,  began  a  new  era  of 
prosperity,  with  manifold  changes  in  the  whole  system  of 
manufacturing.  Instead  of  every  house  being  a  work- 
shop, the  introduction  of  cotton  and  woolen  factories, 
changed  the  whole  social  life  and  habits  of  the  people,  as 
did  in  another  way  the  introduction  of  railroads  and  the 
consequent  change  of  business  centers.  The  rapid  fall  of 
the  Housatonic  as  it  passed  through  Lee,  gave  this  town 
great  facilities  for  manufacturing,  but  the  water  power 
was  at  first  principally  used  for  saw  and  grist  mills,  lum- 
ber and  breadstuff  being  the  great  wants  of  the  early 
colonist.  In  1806,  Samuel  Church,  a  practical  paper- 
maker,  came  from  East  Hartford  to  South  Lee,  and 
erected  a  small  paper  mill  near  where  the  large  mills  of 


168  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

the  Hurlbut  Paper  Company  now  stand.  This  was  the 
nucleus  of  the  present  great  industry  of  the  town,  paper- 
manufacture,  an  account  of  which  will  be  given  in  con- 
nection with  the  firms  which  are  now  so  extensively  en- 
gaged in  this  business. 

PUBLIC    ACTION    ON    MORAL    AND    POLITICAL    QUESTIONS. 

Though  the  action  of  a  town  meeting  in  Western  Mas- 
sachusetts now  has  no  such  importance  as  it  had  in  the 
Revolutionary  period  of  our  history,  it  is  gratifying  to 
know  how  uniform  has  been  the  sentiment  of  the  town 
in  favor  of  righteousness  and  so  of  peace.  1854,  it  was 
"Resolved,  That  we  as  a  town  desire  hereby  to  record  our 
vote  against  the  passage  of  the  so-called  Nebraska  Bill, 
regarding  it  as  iniquitous  in  conception,  and  the  violation 
of  a  solemn  compact."  On  the  question  of  temperance, 
the  public  sentiment  of  the  town  has  uniformly  been  in  fa- 
vor of  suppressing  tippling  shops.  The  subject  has  often 
been  discussed  in  town  meeting,  and  the  arguments  and 
the  votes  have  testified  to  the  high  moral  tone  of  the 
community  on  this  point. 

The  question  of  slavery  was,  from  the  first,  a  discord- 
ant element  in  our  national  polity.  The  attempt  fre- 
quently made  to  divest  it  of  power  by  one  compromise 
and  another  finally  and  signally  failed.  The  election  of 
Abraham   Lincoln   as  President  for  the  term  beginning 

1861,  March  4,  was  soon  followed  by  the  firing  on  Fort 
Sumter,  April  11.  April  15,  President  Lincoln  issued 
his  call  for  75,000   troops  ;    May  4,   64,000    additional. 

1862,  July  1,  300,000.  1864,  February  1,  draft  ordered 
for  300,000  additional.  Lee  responded  cheerfully  and 
promptly  to  all  these  calls,  and  said  by  its  acts,  "  We 
are  coming,  Father  Abraham,  three  hundred  thousand 
strong." 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  169 

THE    WAR    OF    SECESSION. 

The  first  action  of  the  town,  on  record,  in  reference  to 
the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  Secession,  is  in  connection 
with  the  town  meeting  called  May  4,  1861.  Prayer  was 
offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Gale.  On  motion  of  Marshall  Wil- 
cox, Esq.,  it  was  voted,  "  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  meet- 
ing that  there  be  a  company  of  at  least  64  men  enrolled  in 
this  town  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  for  a  call  into 
active  service."  Resolutions,  offered  by  Mr.  Wilcox,  were 
also  adopted  as  "  the  unanimous  expression  of  the  feel- 
ings of  all  the  citizens  of  the  town  : " 

Resolved,  That  the  inhabitants  of  Lee  deem  it  important  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  should  have  the  hearty  and  earnest 
encouragement  and  active  assistance  of  every  loyal  citizen  in  suppress- 
ing the  treasonable  Rebellion  which  aims  at  the  overthrow  of  our  laws 
and  the  Constitution  of  the  land,  and  that  as  citizens  of  Lee,  actuated 
by  a  love  of  our  country  and  of  universal  liberty,  we  are  ready  to  share 
in  the  common  effort  of  sustaining  the  Government;  and  as  a  town, 
we  assure  those  of  our  citizens  who  shall  enter  into  the  service  of  the 
Government  as  volunteer  soldiers,  that  their  families  dependent  upon 
them  shall  be  well  and  honorably  provided  for,  and  sustained  during 
their  entire  absence. 

Voted,  That  the  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  borrow  $3,000,  if  so 
much  shall  be  necessary,  under  the  Resolution  adopted  by  the  town. 

Voted,  That  the  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  procure  a  suitable  room 
for  a  drill-room  for  the  volunteers. 

Voted,  That  a  committee  of  four  be  appointed  who  shall  have  charge 
of  the  funds  in  connection  with  the  Selectmen,  and  said  committee  of 
seven  shall  have  entire  control  of  the  disbursement  of  the  money,  and 
the  following  persons  were  appointed  as  said  Committee  :  Selectmen, 
W.  G.  Merrill,  Edward  Morgan,  S.  S.  May.  Committee  of  Four,  Isaac 
C.  Ives,  William  Taylor,  Harrison  Garfield,  John  Branning. 

Meetings  for  drill  were  held  at  once.  A  company  was 
organized,  and  called  the  "  Valley  Guards."  Nearly  a 
hundred  joined.  A  public  meeting  was  held  May  21,  and 
$140.00  raised  to*  procure  uniforms,  gray  pants  with  black 
cord  stripe,  and  fatigue  jacket.  Hon.  John  Branning 
22 


170  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

was  elected  Captain,  and  Luther  Bradley,  Lieutenant ;  but 
the  Governor  declined  to  accept  them  and  the  company 
disbanded.  At  this  time,  Colonel  Lee's  (10th  Regiment) 
was  mustering,  and  22  joined  Company  A.  Some  went 
to  New  York  and  joined  Duryea's  Zouaves;  others  went  to 
Boston,  and  joined  the  2d  Mass.  Regiment  (Colonel  Gor- 
don's) ;  two  or  three  went  into  New  York  Cavalry  Regi- 
ments. Early  in  October  occurred  the  first  soldier's  fu- 
neral. Charles  Bassett,  youngest  son  of  Nathan  Bassett, 
had  enlisted  as  a  musician  in  the  6th  Michigan  Regiment, 
in  which  his  brother  Chauncey  was  Captain,  He  died  at 
Baltimore  of  typhoid  fever,  aged  23  years,  Oct.  20,  1861, 
and  his  body  was  brought  to  Lee  for  burial. 

The  ladies  were  busy  making  and  collecting  such  arti- 
cles as  the  soldiers  needed,  and  in  November  sent  off 
boxes  of  good  things  to  the  Hospitals  at  Washington  and 
Philadelphia, — shirts,  drawers,  pillow-cases  and  pillows, 
stockings,  towels,  sheets,  and  various  little  conveniences 
and  comforts  for  sick  soldiers.  Nor  were  those  in  camp 
forgotten,  and  from  family  friends  as  well  as  from  the 
Ladies'  Soldiers'  Aid  Society,  almost  every  week  the  Ex- 
press Company  carried  to  the  army  some  grateful  tokens 
of  loving  remembrance. 

The  Valley  Gleaner  for  Feb.  20,  published  a  list  of  sol- 
diers connected  with  various  regiments:  2d,  10th,  21st, 
27th,  31st  Mass. ;  5th,  6th,  18th,  24th  New  York ;  7th 
Conn. ;  45th  Illinois.  Lieut.  Luther  Bradley  and  25  with 
him  from  Lee  were  in  Company  E,  27th  Regiment ; 
Lieut.  B.  A.  Morey  and  14  others  in  Company  I,  31st 
Regiment.  William  T.  Fish  was  for  a  time  Sutler  of  the 
2nd  Mass.  Regiment. 

At  a  town  meeting  held  1862,  July  21,  the  following 
resolutions  were  submitted  and  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas,  the  President  of  these  United  States  has  called  upon  the 
several  States  to  raise  300,000  men  to  put  down  the  Rebellion;  and 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  171 

Whereas,  the  quota  of  men  to  be  furnished  by  this  town  of  Lee  is  37, 
which  number  ought  to  be,  if  not  already,  promptly  secured  b}r  volun- 
tary enlistments  : 

Therefore,  it  is  voted  by  the  inhabitants  of  Lee,  in  town  meeting 
assembled,  to  pay  a  bounty  of  $100.00  to  each  person  who  shall  enlist, 
or  who  has  enlisted,  to  make  up  the  quota  of  men  required  of  this 
town,  and  that  the  same  be  paid  when  the  men  have  been  accepted 
and  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

Voted,  That  the  Selectmen  take  steps  to  raise  $3,700.00  in  such 
mode  as  they  deem  best,  and  appropriate  the  same  to  the  payment  of 
the  above  bounty  ;  and  we  hereb}-  pledge  the  honor,  credit,  reputation 
and  resources  of  this  town  to  the  Selectmen  in  the  raising  and  appro- 
priating of  said  money  as  aforesaid,  and  to  any  and  all  persons  who 
shall  or  may  aid  them  by  advancing  on  the  credit  of  the  town  any 
sum  or  sums  of  money  whereby  the  Selectmen  shall  be  enabled  to 
raise  the  said  sum  of  $3,700.00. 

Voted,  That  when  the  Selectmen  shall  have  raised  the  money,  they 
pay  the  same  into  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  town,  and  the 
same  be  paid  out  by  the  Treasurer  for  the  purposes  aforesaid  to  the 
several  persons  who  enlist  to  make  up  the  37  men,  on  the  order  of  the 
Selectmen  and  not  otherwise. 

July  26,  Camp  Briggs  was  established  at  Pittsfield  for 
the  purpose  of  mustering  and  drilling  troops.  Here  the 
37th  Regiment,  as  recruited,  was  stationed,  till  Sept.  7, 
when  they  left,  975  strong,  for  Hudson,  and  thence  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  Va.  The  Regiment  made  for  itself  a  most 
honorable  record.  The  officers  and  men  from  Lee  in  the 
24  battles  through  which  they  fought  their  way,  gained  a 
deserved  renown  as  brave  and  steady  soldiers. 

A  company  was  started  to  be  commanded  by  Capt. 
F.  W.  Pease,  Lieut.  G.  H.  Hyde,  and  Lieut.  P.  W.  Mor- 
gan, to  join  the  37th  Regiment.  Captain  Pease  and 
Lieutenant  Morgan  took  charge  of  the  men  in  the  Camp 
at  Pittsfield,  while  Lieutenant  Hyde  was  recruiting.  Col- 
onel Edwards,  in  Lieutenant  Hyde's  absence,  commis- 
sioned T.  F.  Plunkett  of  Pittsfield,  Lieutenant  of  the  com- 
pany. But  after  some  effort  and  remonstrance,  Lieuten- 
ant Hyde   received  a  commission   in   another   company, 


172  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

and  in  the  course  of  time  was  assigned  to  a  position  in  the 
company  from  Lee,  of  which  he  finally  became  captain. 

August  24,  when  the  President  had  issued  his  call  for 
volunteers  for  nine  months,  a  mass  meeting  was  held  in 
the  park,  and  meetings  were  held  also  Monday,  Tuesday, 
and  Friday  evenings.  A  company,  mostly  from  Lee,  vol- 
unteered under  Capt.  A.  V.  Shannon  ;  and  others  under 
Capt.  B.  A.  Morey. 

August  31,  the  officers  of  the  Lee  company  in  the  37th 
Regiment  were  presented  with  swords  by  the  contribution 
of  friends  ;  and  the  officers  in  the  49th  received,  Nov.  6, 
a  similar  expression  of  regard. 

1862,  Aug.  28,  it  was  voted,  that  we,  the  town  of  Lee, 
do  hereby  authorize  the  Treasurer  upon  the  order  of  the 
selectmen  of  this  town  to  pay  to  each  volunteer  who  shall 
be  mustered  into  the  service  under  the  call  of  the  Presi- 
dent for  300,000  men  for  9  months,  the  sum  of  $100.00, 
to  be  paid  in  manner  provided  for  by  the  following  reso- 
lution, to  wit : 

Resolved,  That  the  proper  authorities  of  the  town  of  Lee  give  to 
each  volunteer  who  shall  he  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  a  note  at  9  months  date  for  $100.00  with  interest.  Should 
any  of  the  volunteers  thus  raised  by  said  town  of  Lee  he  dishonorably 
discharged,  the  said  note  or  notes  to  be  void. 

October  11,  when  it  was  ascertained  that  such  notes 
were  not  negotiable,  this  action  was  rescinded,  and  imme- 
diate payment  directed  except  in  case  of  transfer  of  note. 

November  6,  a  draft  was  to  have  taken  place  to  fill 
up  the  quota  demanded,  but  was  postponed  from  Thurs- 
day to  Monday.  Saturday  evening  a  public  meeting  was 
held.  Individuals  subscribed  enough  to  offer  $30.00  each 
in  addition  to  the  $100.00  bounty  voted,  and  seven  men, 
the  number  needed,  promptly  volunteered. 

1863,  July  25,  the  selectmen  were  authorized  to  bor- 
row money  to  pay  for  the  support  of  volunteers'  families. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  173 

Sept.  26,  the  town  voted  an  appropriation  of  $7,247.52 
to  equalize  bounty  money  paid. 

When  at  the  close  of  1862,  General  Butler  inaugurated 
the  policy  of  forming  negro  regiments,  Chauncey  F.  Bas- 
sett  of  Allegan,  Mich.,  but  a  native  of  this  town,  received 
a  commission  as  Major  of  the  First  Louisiana  Native 
Guards. 

The  draft  for  this  district  for  men  to  fill  the  quotas  of 
the  various  towns  occurred  at  Springfield,  1863,  July  14 ; 
84  men  were  drafted,  but  on  examination,  Aug.  7,  only 
21  were  accepted.  Some  had  joined  in  leagues  to  pay  for 
any  one  of  the  membership  the  substitute  money  ($300) 
required  by  the  Government.  Two  of  the  six  sons  of 
Mrs.  Warren,  a  widow  living  at  East  Lee,  were  drafted ; 
the  other  four  sons  had  volunteered  early  in  the  war  and 
were  then  serving  in  the  army. 

1864,  June  6,  the  selectmen  were  authorized  to  borrow 
money  necessary  to  pay  each  volunteer  $125.00  bounty  ; 
and  again,  Dec.  13,  had  general  authority  to  borrow 
money  to  secure  volunteers  in  anticipation  of  further  calls. 
Five  of  the  citizens  of  Lee,  at  their  own  expense,  sent 
substitutes  into  the  army.  Sept.  1,  an  enthusiastic  mass 
meeting  was  held  to  promote  enlistments.  A  committee 
secured  a  subscription  of  $3,000.00,  so  that  they  offered 
$175.00  bounty  in  addition  to  the  $125.00  offered  by  the 
United  States,  and  $20.00  a  month'  paid  by  the  State. 

1863,  Oct.  17,  the  President  called  for  300,000  more 
troops.  The  quota  of  Lee  was  42,  and  strenuous  efforts 
wrere  made  to  secure  this  number  by  volunteers  before 
the  day  fixed  for  a  draft,  Jan.  5.  A  recruiting  office  was 
opened.  The  bounties  offered  were  unprecedently  large  ; 
$402.00  from  the  United  States  Government  in  addition 
to  the  $325.00  from  the  State.  Soldiers  in  the  old  regi- 
ments re-enlisted,  many  of  the  31st  Massachusetts  Volun- 
teer Militia  entering  a  cavalry  regiment.     The  draft  was 


174  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

postponed,  but  Feb.  1,  1864,  a  call  was  made  for  500,000 
men.  May  12,  it  was  announced  that  Lee  must  furnish 
38  men  to  make  up  deficiencies.  A  draft  of  that  number 
brought  only  9  accepted  men,  who  paid  their  substitute 
money.  29  others  volunteered  or  agreed  to  go  as  substi- 
tutes. When  the  list  of  drafted  men  was  put  up  in  the 
Post  Office  some  wag  wrote  beneath  the  list : 

"  Why  should  we  mourn  conscripted  friends, 
Or  shake  at  war's  alarms  ? 
'Tis  but  the  voice  that  Abraham  sends 
Which  bids  them  shoulder  arms.'' 

1865,  April  3,  the  selectmen  reported  that  large  ex- 
penditures had  been  necessary  to  secure  recruits.  91  men 
had  been  obtained  in  Boston.  After  the  close  of  the  war 
the  selectmen  reported  that  295  men  in  all  had  been  sent. 
But  as  the  town  sent  14  men  in  excess  of  its  quota,  the 
Adjutant  General  says  that  400  men  must  have  been  sent. 
It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  town  records  are  so  mea- 
gre, deficient  and  imperfect,  that  no  more  accurate  and 
just  account  can  be  given  of  the  part  taken  so  creditably 
by  the  town  in  the  measures  and  movements  of  the  four 
years'  war  of  secession. 

Under  the  President's  last  call  for  300,000  troops,  it 
was  found  that  Massachusetts'  quota  was  only  805,  so 
largely  in  excess  had'  been  the  soldiers  credited  to  her 
under  former  calls. 

When  the  news  reached  town.  Monday,  April  10,  that 
Gen.  Lee  had  surrendered,  the  excitement  was  intense. 
The  bells  were  rung,  cannon  fired,  the  operatives  rushed 
out  of  the  mills  to  hear  the  particulars,  to  cheer,  and  to 
congratulate  each  other  at  the  final  cessation  of  the  long 
and  mournful  struggle  of  the  past  four  years. 

Exclusive  of  money  contributed  by  individuals  and 
paid    by    the    town    for    what   was   called    State  aid   to 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  175 

the  families  of  volunteers,  the  town  raised  and  paid 
$21,654.56.  The  money  expended  for  State  aid,  for 
which  the  town  was  reimbursed,  was  $20,776.46. 

No  record  was  kept  of  the  contributions,  by  the  ladies, 
of  articles  for  the  comfort  or  necessities  of  the  soldiers. 
The  Christian  Commission  received  in  all  $1,005.17  in 
money,  $470.10  of  this  being  a  special  contribution  from 
the  ladies.  Many  boxes,  whose  aggregate  value  cannot 
be  given,  were  sent  to  the  soldiers  in  camp  and  in  hos- 
pital. The  ladies  raised  by  a  fair  or  festival,  $289,  and 
by  membership  fees  in  the  Soldiers'  Aid  Society,  $172. 

37th  regiment. 

The  37th  Regiment  was  recruited  in  Berkshire  County, 
and  under  command  of  Col.  Oliver  Edwards,  Jr.,  left  the 
State,  1862,  September  7.  It  was  attached  to  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  and  reached  its  destination  in  time  to 
take  part  in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg.  Company  B 
of  this  Regiment  was  mainly  composed  of  soldiers  from 
this  town,  at  first  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Franklin 
W.  Pease,  who  died  of  the  wounds  received  in  the  hard 
fought  battles  before  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  May  14, 
1864,  and  was  succeeded  by  Capt.  George  H.  Hyde,  who 
continued  in  command  till  the  close  of  the  war.  The  fol- 
lowing brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  this  Regiment  is 
mainly  taken  from  the  report  of  the  Adjutant  General : 

Leaving  camp  at  New  Baltimore,  November  13,  1862, 
the  Regiment  marched  first  to  Stafford  Court  House, 
thence  to  White  Oak  Church,  and  December  11,  to  the 
Rappahannock  at  Franklin's  Crossing  below  Fredericks- 
burg, being  the  first  regiment  to  cross  at  that  point. 
Guarded  the  bridges  the  next  day ;  were  then  posted  on 
the  extreme  left,  and  on  the  retreat  of  the  army  were  the 
last  to  recross.  Remained  in  camp  at  Falmouth,  where 
the  Regiment,  with  only  three  axes  to  a  Company,  built 


176  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

in  a  week  160  log-houses,  12  feet  long,  7  feet  high,  9  feet 
wide,  with  a  fire-place  to  each  and  a  floor  of  pine  poles. 
April  28,  crossed  the  Rappahannock  again,  and  until  May 
4,  the  6th  Army  Corps  engaged  nearly  the  whole  of  Lee's 
Army.  May  6,  recrossed  the  river.  Virginia  mud  inter- 
fered with  well-laid  plans ;  a  more  insuperable  obstacle 
than  Secesh  soldiery.  June  13,  took  up  the  line  of  inarch 
northward,  crossing  the  Potomac  at  Edwards'  Ferry,  June 
27,  protecting  the  rear.  July  2,  after  a  forced  march  of 
34  miles,  reached  the  battle-field  of  Gettysburg.  The 
heat  was  intense,  and  in  the  marching  at  double  quick 
from  point  to  point  on  the  line,  some  twenty  fell  from 
sunstroke ;  at  one  time,  3  p.  m.,  passing  through  a  terrific 
shell  fire  and  losing  23  men  killed  and  wounded.  July 
4,  took  position  in  the  center  on  the  front  line.  July  5, 
the  enemy  having  retreated,  followed  in  pursuit.  The 
severities  of  the  inarching  are  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
when  Middletown  was  reached,  July  9,  180  men  were 
without  shoes.  Advanced,  July  15,  to  Williamsport,  but 
Lee's  Army  had  all  recrossed  the  river.  Marched  down 
the  east  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge  to  Warrenton,  Va.  July 
30,  detailed  to  do  guard  duty  and  provost  duty  in  New 
York  City,  in  connection  with  the  draft.  October  14, 
were  ordered  to  report  at  Washington ;  reached  Warren- 
ton October  20.  November  7,  marched  to  Rappahannock 
Station,  and  November  26,  crossed  the  Rapidan.  Decem- 
ber 2,  fell  back  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Rapiclan  cross- 
ing at  Culpepper  Ford.  December  3,  went  into  camp  at 
Brandy  Station. 

In  the  campaign  of  1864,  the  37th  Regiment  bore  a 
conspicuous  part.  The  following  is  the  report  of  the  ad- 
jutant-general, of  its  conduct  in  the  second  day's  fight,  in 
the  battle  of  the  Wilderness.  "  No  regiment  displayed 
greater  gallantry  than  did  the  37th  on  the  6th  of  May. 
It  was  on  the  right  of  the  Gordonsville  road,  in  the  third 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  177 

or  fourth  line  of  battle,  as  a  support  to  the  lines  in  front. 
The  front  lines  at  last  gave  way,  passing  over  the  Regi- 
ment in  a  complete  rout.  The  enemy,  flushed  with  ap- 
parent success,  pressed  hard  on.  The  order  was  given  for 
the  37th  to  advance.  At  the  word,  every  man  moved 
forward  under  a  withering  fire,  and  hurled  the  enemy^s 
lines  back  one  upon  another,  for  the  distance  of  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile,  and  held  the  position  till  the  line  in  rear 
had  time  to  reform.  Being  here  exposed  to  a  terrible 
musketry  fire  from  the  front  and  both  flanks,  it  was  or- 
dered to  fall  back,  which  movement  it  executed  without 
confusion."  In  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness,  the  Regi- 
ment lost  about  150  men,  among  whom  were  two  brave 
Lee  lads,  George  Phinney  and  George  W.  Coope. 

In  the  several  engagements  near  Spottsylvania  Court 
House,  the  37th  bore  itself  with  the  same  gallantry.  In 
the  Adjutant-General's  report  for  1865,  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing account  of  the  "  Battle  of  the  Angle,"  fought  on 
the  12th  of  May,  in  which  the  37th  supported  an  attack 
made  by  the  2d  Corps.  aThe  enemy  was  completely 
surprised,  and  their  works  successfully  carried.  Then 
ensued  a  hand-to-hand  struggle  for  their  possession. 
The  enemy  in  our  immediate  front,  occupied  one  side  of 
the  captured  works  and  we  the  other,  each  party  keeping 
up  a  continuous  fire  on  the  parapet.  Thus  we  fought 
from  sunrise  till  midnight,  when  the  enemy  relinquished 
the  field." 

In  this  engagement,  Capt.  Pease  and  Lieut.  A.  C. 
Sparks,  both  of  this  town,  were  wounded,  the  former  fa- 
tally. At  Coal  Harbor,  Petersburg  and  Winchester,  the 
37th  did  the  country  service  and  itself  honor. 

From  January  to   April,   1865,  the  Regiment  was  in 

camp  engaged  in  the  usual  routine  of  guard  and  picket. 

February  5-7,  it  was  held  in  reserve  in  the  engagements 

at   Hatcher's  Run  and  Dabney's  Mills.     March  25,  six 

23 


178  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

companies  were  deployed  as  skirmishers  at  the  capture  of 
Fort  Stedman.  April  l,in  the  assault  on  Petersburg,  the 
skirmish  line  was  composed  entirely  of  men  detailed  from 
the  Regiment,  which  occupied  the  front  line  of  battle 
in  the  brigade.  The  Rebels  fired  their  last  volley  as 
the  colors  of  the  Regiment,  first  in  the  division,  were 
borne  by  the  gallant  troops  over  the  Rebel  works.  Sev- 
enty miles  advance  was  made  in  the  marching  and  coun- 
termarching of  the  next  four  days.  On  the  morning  of 
the  6th,  after  marching  25  miles,  eight  miles  on  the 
double  quick,  rushing  across  Saylor's  Creek,  with  water 
up  to  the  arm-pits,  the  Regiment  dislodged  the  enemy 
from  the  opposite  bank,  and  drove  them  over  the  crest  of 
the  hill.  But  the  regiment  on  the  right  gave  way ;  the 
brigade  on  the  left  failed  to  advance.  The  Rebels  massed 
to  the  attack  in  heavy  columns,  but  the  fire  from  the 
Spencer  rifles  was  so  terrific,  that  they  threw  down  their 
guns,  held  up  their  hands,  and  implored  a  cessation  of  the 
battle.  Yet  on  the  flank  of  the  Regiment,  there  were 
many  instances  of  hand-to-hand  conflict  and  great  per- 
sonal bravery.  Captain  Hopkins  commanded  the  Regi- 
ment in  the  engagements  of  the  2d  and  6th  of  April,  and 
was  twice  breveted  for  his  gallantry  in  battle.  After  the 
battle  of  Saylor's  Creek,  the  Regiment  followed  the  track 
of  Lee's  Army  until  its  surrender  on  the  9th  near  Appo- 
mattox Court  House.  April  13,  the  Regiment  returned  to 
Burkesville  and  rested  a  few  days.  April  23,  ordered  to 
Danville,  made  the  march  of  100  miles  in  four  days. 
May  3,  left  Danville  for  Wilson's  Station,  a  few  miles 
below  Petersburg,  and  there  guarded  the  railroad.  May 
18,  started  on  the  homeward  march,  were  reviewed  in 
Richmond  May  24,  reached  Washington  June  2,  partici- 
pated in  the  Grand  Army  Review  June  15,  left  for  Mas- 
sachusetts June  22,  and  were  discharged  at  Readville 
July  1. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  179 

The  37th  Regiment  received  a  most  gratifying  ovation 
when  they  returned  home,  300  out  of  975.  In  the  cam- 
paign of  the  Wilderness,  the  Regiment  charged  alone  on 
Longstreet's  Corps,  losing  100  men  in  15  minutes,  but 
cutting  the  Rebel  Corps  in  two.  It  is  said  that  at  Spott- 
sylvania,  each  man  fired  400  rounds  of  ammunition ;  and 
in  the  War  Department  at  Washington  is  shown  the 
stump  of  a  tree,  cut  in  two  by  their  bullets.  At  Win- 
chester, they  captured  the  flag  of  the  1st  Virginia,  the  old 
battalion  of  "  Stonewall  "  Jackson. 

the  49th  regiment, 

Under  the  command  of  Capt.  W.  F.  Bartlett,  of  20th 
Mass.  Reg.,  who  had  lost  a  leg  before  Yorktown,  the  49th 
Regiment  of  Mass.  Vols,  for  Nine  Months,  was  mustered 
at  Camp  Briggs,  Pittsfield.  They  were  after  a  time  re- 
moved to  Worcester  where  Capt.  Bartlett  was  commis- 
sioned as  Colonel,  S.  B.  Sumner  of  Great  Barrington  as 
Lieut.  Col. ;  C.  T.  Plunkett,  Major.  This  Regiment  was 
mainly  composed  of  Berkshire  men,  and  was  recruited  in 
the  Summer  and  Fall  of  1862,  the  recruits  from  Lee  and 
vicinity  generally  joining  Companies  F.  and  H. 

1862,  September  27,  at  Camp  Briggs,  Company  H.  made 
choice  of  officers  as  follows,  viz. :  Capt.,  A.  V.  Shannon 
of  Lee ;  1st  Lieut.,  B.  C.  Deming  of  Sandisfield ;  2d 
Lieut.,  DeWitt  S.  Smith  of,  Lee';  the  whole  number  of 
votes  cast  being  74.  Company  F.,  in  which  many  from 
Lee  served,  was  commanded  by  Capt.  B.  A.  Morey  of  Lee. 
The  Regiment  was  sent  first  to  New  York  City,  and  kept 
for  several  weeks  doing  provost  guard  duty.  Their  bar- 
racks were  at  "  Camp  N.  P.  Banks,"  Long  Island, 'near  the 
Union  Course.  So  excellent  was  the  discipline,  so  relia- 
ble the  men,  that  the  department  commander  made 
strenuous  efforts  to  retain  them  at  New  York  for  their 
whole   term  of   service.     But  in  1863,  January  24,  they 


180  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

were  sent  in  the  steamer  "Illinois"  to  New  Orleans.  Thence 
they  were  sent  to  Carrolton,  and  to  Baton  Rouge,  and 
formed  part  of  the  1st  Brigade,  Augur's  Division.  March 
14,  they  were  engaged  in  a  feigned  advance  to  Port  Hud- 
son ;  and  on  their  return  did  provost  duty  at  Baton  Rouge. 
In  May  they  constituted  part  of  the  expedition  to  Port 
Hudson.  May  21,  they  were  engaged  in  the  battle  of 
the  "  Plains  Store,"  having  five  men  wounded.  May  27,  in 
the  first  assault  on  Port  Hudson,  they  lost  76  killed  and 
wounded.  Col.  Bartlett  was  shot  in  the  wrist  and  in  the 
heel ;  Lieut.  Col.  Sumner  was  wounded  in  the  shoulder  ; 
Lieuts.  Judd  and  Deming  were  killed.  In  the  feigned 
attack  of  June  14,  there  were  18  killed  and  wounded. 
They  were  kept  at  the  front  till  Port  Hudson  surrendered, 
July  9.  On  the  13th,  having  marched  four  miles  up  a 
bayou  to  Donaldsonville.  they  were  suddenly  attacked 
by  the  enemy,  but  by  a  circuitous  march  of  three  miles, 
they  escaped  what  seemed  almost  certain  destruction. 
Soon  after  this,  they  came  up  the  Mississippi  en  route  for 
home,  and  arrived  at  Pittsfield,  August  21.  There  went 
from  PittsHeld  947  officers  and  men  ;    715  came  home. 

INDIVIDUAL    INCIDENTS    OF    THE    WAR. 

Major  Adam  Miller  started  off  at  the  first  call  for 
volunteers  with  B.  A.  Morey,  E.  W.  Lewis,  and  two  or 
three  others,  to  join  Duryea's  Zouaves  in  New  York. 
Not  liking  their  style,  they  went  to  Boston  and  joined  the 
2d.  Mass.  Vol.  Militia.  In  the  battle  of  Cedar  Run  Moun- 
tain, a  minnie  ball  struck  Miller  on  his  right  cheek, 
glanced  along  the  bone,  going  under  his  nose,  and 
coming  out  through  the  socket  of  his  left  eye.  It  made 
a  ghastly  wound  and  deprived  him  of  an  eye,  but  he  is 
still  living  and  engaged  in  active  business  at  Foxburg, 
Pa. 

Capt.  Peletiah  Ward  (20th  New  York  Volunteers),  was 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  181 

from  1848  to  1850  the  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Church  in 
Lee.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  he  was  stationed  at 
Ellenville,  N.  Y.  He  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Manassas 
in  1862.  Finding  himself  wounded,  yet  seeing  the  color 
bearers  repeatedly  shot  down,  he  staggered  forward, 
grasped  the  colors  himself,  only  to  be  again  wounded 
more  severely. 

Capt.  Thomas  S.  Bradley,  (9th  Co.,  N.  Y.,  State  Sharp- 
shooters,) a  native  of  Lee  and  a  graduate  at  Williams 
College  in  1848,  for  a  time  pastor  at  Wilton,  Conn., 
while  acting  pastor  of  the  church  at  Lebanon  Springs, 
N.  Y.,  enlisted  with  a  company  mainly  from  his  own 
congregation.  He  was  stationed  at  Suffolk,  Va.,  where 
he  contracted  a  fever  of  which  he  died  June  28,  1863. 
His  body  was  brought  to  Lee  for  burial. 

Capt.  F.  W.  Pease  was  wounded  in  the  right  shoulder 
at  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania,  May  12,  1864.  He  was 
put  into  an  ambulance  to  be  taken  to  Fredericksburg, 
but  died  on  the  journey  and  was  buried  by  the  roadside. 

1864,  July  31,  Dr.  George  McAllister,  a  native  of  South 
Lee,  was  brought  there  for  burial.  He  was  a  Surgeon  of 
Sickles'  Excelsior  Brigade,  and  afterwards  was  appointed 
by  Gen.  Hooker  to  locate  and  inspect  hospitals  in  his  de- 
partment. His  health  failed,  and  coming  North,  lie  died 
at  the  Ashland  House,  New  York  City. 

Eldad  E.  Moore,  enlisted  from  this  town  in  the  27th 
Regiment,  September  19,  1861.  In  a  foggy  morning, 
May  16,  1863,  before  Fort  Darling,  the.  regiment  was 
surrounded  and  270  taken  prisoners.  With  others,  Moore 
was  sent  to  Andersonville,  Ga.,  and  lived  through  the 
miseries  of  that  horrible  prison  pen.  In  fear  of  Sher- 
man's raid,  the  prisoners  were  removed  to  places  of 
greater  security.  Sent  from  Andersonville,  September 
26,  Moore  jumped  from  the  cars,  when  they  had  gone 
about   10  miles,  and  started  of  in  a  north-west  direction 


182  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

for  Atlanta  and  freedom.  When  he  had  traveled  about 
75  miles  he  was  re-captured  and  sent  to  Columbus,  Ga. 
He  exchanged  clothes  with  some  Southern  soldiers,  and 
escaped  by  walking  out  of  the  prison  as  if  one  of  the 
guard.  He  reached  Atlanta,  and  received  new  clothes 
and  a  pass  for  the  North.  The  train  in  which  he  left 
Atlanta  was  captured  by  bushwhackers,  but  he  escaped 
from  them  and  went  to  Atlanta  for  a  fresh  start.  He 
finally  reached  Washington  and  Boston,  where  he  was  dis- 
charged, having  been  in  service  3  years  and  two  months. 
Charles  Gates,  a  minor  son  of  William  K.  Gates  of  East 
Lee,  wished  to  enlist  early  in  the  war,  but  his  parents  dis- 
approved. They  sent  him  one  day  to  drive  the  cattle  to 
a  mountain  pasture.  He  attended  to  this  duty,  and  then 
pushed  on  to  the  army  rendezvous,  and  enlisted  in  the 
10th  Regiment.  After  fulfilling  his  term  of  service  as  a 
soldier  without  a  furlough,  he  arrived  at  Springfield, 
1864,  June  25.  Leaving  the  cars  at  Bccket,  he  came 
over  the  mountain  to  the  pasture,  and  about  the  usual 
time  in  the  afternoon,  drove  the  cattle  home,  where  the 
belated  cow-boy  was  received  with  joyous  welcome  by 
parents  and  neighbors. 

CHANGES    IN    BUSINESS. 

The  war  which  was  in  the  opinion  of  many  to  bring 
ruin  to  the  manufacturing  interests  of  New  England,  in 
fact  brought  prosperity  such  as  was  never  known  before. 
Paper  stock  indeed  was  very  scarce,  and  rags  rose  from  one 
cent  a  pound  to  five.  Cotton  mattresses  were  sold  at  a 
great  profit.  But  currency,  such  as  it  was,  postal  cur- 
rency at  first,  and  then  greenback  and  fractional,  was 
very  abundant.  Large  bounties  were  paid  and  generally 
spent  freely,  though  some  were  provident  enough  to  invest 
their  money  profitably.  The  7-30  bonds  of  the  Govern- 
ment were  eagerly  taken,  and  the  interest  money  paid  on 


MEMORIAL  HALL. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  183 

these,  stimulated  many  to  invest  in  these  securities.  The 
Government  resorted  to  an  internal  revenue  tax  to  meet 
its  extraordinary  expenditures  ;  but  this  draft  on  the  re- 
sources of  the  people  was  cheerfully  met.  Mr.  Elizur 
Smith  paid  the  largest  internal  revenue  tax  paid  in  this 
county,  over  $4,000  monthly.  The  business  prosperity 
of  the  place  continued  on,  receiving  no  check  till  1873. 
In  that  year  the  flush  times  culminated.  It  was  a  time 
of  general  expenditure  in  building,  repairing,  and  other 
improvements.  It  is  estimated  that  $350,000  were  spent 
that  year  in  this  town  for  such  purposes. 

Lee,  with  other  manufacturing  towns,  felt  the  impulse 
to  enlarge  business.  New  blocks  were  put  up,  new  mills 
built,  and  old  mills  enlarged.  A  desire  had  long  been  felt 
to  have  a  new  avenue  for  the  transportation  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  the  town,  and  the  importation  of  the  raw  material 
required  in  our  mills.  As  the  Housatonic  railroad  had 
practically  a  monopoly  of  transportation,  our  manufact- 
urers could  not  compete  successfully  with  those  of 
Holyoke  and  other  places  whose  goods  were  transported 
at  lower  rates.  The  Lee  and  New  Haven  and  Lee  and 
Hudson  railroads  were  therefore  projected.  The  history 
of  these  roads  is  given  in  another  place. 

MEMORIAL    HALL. 

In  1869,  April  5,  the  project  of  building  a  Memorial 
Hall  was  first  brought  before  the  town.  The  design  was 
to  have  in  such  a  structure  not  only  some  fitting  testimo- 
nial by  grateful  fellow-citizens  to  those  who  went  out 
from  our  homes  to  fight  the  battles  of  Liberty  and  Union, 
but  to  combine  with  this  consecrated  memorial  some  pro- 
vision of  special  advantages  for  the  social  needs  of  such  a 
community  as  Lee  had  now  grown  to  be.  A  large  hall 
for  public  use  was  a  pressing  want.  Offices  were  to  be 
provided   for    the   varied    administration    of    the    town's 


184  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

affairs.  In  1858  the  selectmen  had  petitioned  the  town 
for  rooms  for  their  exclusive  occupancy,  and  also  for  a 
fire-proof  safe,  as  now  required  by  law.  The  Post  Office 
could  have  special  accommodations  for  its  use.  But  be- 
yond all,  a  Public  Library  could  be  secured,  which  would 
be  the  supplement  of  the  present  system  of  school  in- 
struction, and  furnish  free  education  to  every  citizen. 
At  the  annual  town  meeting,  April  7,  1873,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  consider  the  whole  subject  and  report 
plans  at  a  future  meeting.  April  26,  of  the  same  year, 
this  committee  reported  that  individuals  had  generously 
subscribed  $3,200.00  for  the  purchase  of  a  site,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  town  would  erect  upon  it,  a  suitable  building 
to  serve  as  a  memorial  for  the  soldiers  of  the  town  in 
the  late  war,  and  also  for  a  town  hall,  library  and  other 
public  purposes.  The  committee  further  recommended 
that  the  donation  be  accepted,  and  that  a  Memorial  Hall 
be  erected  upon  the  site  proposed,  the  corner  of  Main 
and  North  Park  streets.  The  report  of  the  committee 
was  accepted  and  adopted,  and  $22,000.00  was  appro- 
priated for  the  erection  of  the  Hall.  Messrs.  Elizur  Smith, 
John  Branning,  Charles  Bradley,  Thomas  O.  Hurlbut  and 
William  Taylor  were  appointed  a  committee  to  carry  this 
vote  into  execution.  At  a  subsequent  town  meeting, 
held  Jan.  19,  1874,  the  committee  were  instructed  to  fin- 
ish off  the  basement  into  rooms  suitable  for  renting,  and 
$1,500.00  was  appropriated  to  defray  the  expense,  and 
$1,000.00  additional  was  appropriated  for  providing  suit- 
able furniture  for  the  Hall  and  town  offices.  In  March 
following,  the  committee  were  still  further  instructed  to 
prepare  Memorial  Tablets  to  be  placed  in  the  Hall,  and 
to  contain  the  names  of  the  soldiers  from  this  town  who 
had  sacrificed  their  lives  in  the  late  struggle  for  the  integ- 
rity of  the  Union,  and  $650.00  was  placed  at  their  dis- 
posal for  this  purpose. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  185 

This  committee  executed  their  trust  faithfully,  in  no 
instance  exceeding  the  appropriations,  and  defraying  from 
their  own  pockets  the  many  extra  expenses  which  are 
always  incurred  in  the  erection  of  such  a  building,  and 
which  can  not  well  be  detailed  in  the  contract.  The 
who]e  cost  of  the  Hall,  including  the  donation  for  the 
site,  furniture,  tablets,  etc.,  was  about  $29,000.00. 

Everything  being  finished,  Memorial  Hall  was  dedi- 
cated with  appropriate  ceremonies,  May  30,  1874,  Rev. 
Dr.  Gale  delivering  an  address  which  contained  a  pretty 
complete  military  history  of  the  town.  This  building, 
while  serving  the  original  purpose  of  a  memorial  to  the 
Lee  soldiers,  is  a  great  ornament  to  the  town,  and  fur- 
nishes commodious  rooms  for  town  meetings,  town  offices, 
library  and  post  office. 

SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE  EARLY  DAYS. 

In  this  connection,  it  mny  be  well  to  fix  in  mind  the 
general  condition  of  things  in  the  commmunity,  the  occu- 
pations and  habits  of  the  people,  and  the  appearance  of 
the  village.  During  the  first  ten  years  of  the  settlement 
of  the  town,  that  is  from  1760  to  1770,  only  thirteen 
families  had  pitched  their  dwellings  here.  These  all 
lived  in  small  log-houses,  most  of  them  on  the  mountain 
sides,  as  the  early  settlers  regarded  the  valley  of  the 
river  as  marshy  and  unhealthy.  No  roads  or  bridges  had 
then  been  built.  Travelers  were  guided  on  their  course 
by  marked  trees,  and  streams  were  forded,  or  crossed  by 
a  fallen  tree  that  served  for  a  bridge.  In  1770,  John 
Winegar  came  into  town  and  built  his  log-house  by  the 
side  of  the  rocks  near  the  site  of  the  present  Columbia 
Mill.  The  rock  served  as  the  back  side  of  his  house,  and 
also  as  one  side  for  his  chimney  down  which  he  put  his 
wood  to  the  fire-place.  Near  his  dwelling  Mr.  Winegar 
24 


186  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

built  the  first  grist  mill  in  town.  At  this  time  (1770),  the 
location  of  the  few  families  in  town  was  as  follows : 
Isaac  Davis  was  living  on  his  farm,  now  the  McAllister 
place  near  South  Lee.  Reuben  Pixley  lived  on  what  is 
now  H.  Garfield's  farm,  about  a  mile  east  of  Mr.  Davis. 
John  Goffe.  an  Irishman,  lived  a  mile  north  of  Mr.  Pixley 
on  the  J.  H.  Royce  place  ;  Hope  Davis  lived  a  mile  east 
of  Goffe  on  the  hill  a  little  east  of  Messrs.  May's  mill. 
Near  him,  lived  Aaron  Benedict,  George  Parker  and  Wil- 
liam Chanter,  the  latter  a  quaker  and  called  "  friend 
William."  Jonathan  Foote  occupied  a  log-house  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  T.  L.  Foote.  Mr.  Atkins  lived  in  the 
extreme  east  part  of  the  town,  near  the  old  Shailer 
tavern,  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Belden.  Elisha  Freeman 
pitched  his  house  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  his  grand- 
son, J.  B.  Freeman,  and  a  little  north  of  him  lived  Lt. 
Crocker,  and  a  mile  east  on  the  mountain  lived  Mr. 
Dodge ;  and  around  him  afterwards  there  was  quite  a  set- 
tlement, called  Doclgetown.  Here  lived  the  blacksmith, 
the  shoemaker  and  the  tanner,  and  here  it  was  at  first 
proposed  to  build  the  church.  In*  and  around  the  village, 
there  were  not  five  acres  of  cleared  land.  Kunkerpot,  an 
Indian  chief,  had  a  wigwam  in  what  is  now  the  Park,  and 
several  other  Indian  huts  were  in  the  vicinity. 

During  the  next  ten  years,  from  1770  to  1780,  many 
valuable  citizens  settled  in  town,  among  whom  were 
Nathaniel  and  Cornelius  Bassett,  Nathan  Ball,  Jesse 
Gifford,  Jesse  Bradley,  William  Ingersoll,  Timothy 
Thatcher,  Oliver  and  Prince  West,  Arthur  Perry,  Samuel 
Stanley,  Amos  Porter,  Josiah  Yale,  Ebenezer  Jenkins, 
Nathan  Dillingham,  Job  Hamblin,  and  others.  They 
were  men  of  intelligence,  and  generally  of  religious  char- 
acter, and  have  left  their  impress  for  good  on  succeeding 
generations.  Their  dress  and  mode  of  living  were  simple 
in  the  extreme.     They  lived  amid  poverty  and  war,  but 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  187 

were  industrious,  patriotic,  and  public-spirited.  Very  little 
money  was  in  circulation,  and  most  payments  were  made 
"by  barter."  Corn,  wheat,  leather, .etc.,  were  the  me- 
diums of  exchange.  Many  were  the  turns  made  to  bring 
about  a  balance  of  accounts.  On  the  records  of  the  build- 
ing committee  of  the  Congregational  Church  is  the  follow- 
ing entry :  "  Nathan  Dillingham,  Cr.  By  settling  with 
sundry  carpenters,  making  many  turns,  50  cents."  He 
doubtless  earned  his  money.  Wheeled  vehicles  were 
unknown,  and  the  horse's  back  furnished  the  only  means 
for  transportation.  Women  rode  behind  their  husbands 
on  pillions  attached  to  the  saddles.  Major  Dillingham, 
the  first  merchant,  brought  his  teas,  spices  and  dry 
goods  on  horseback  from  Hudson,  the  nearest  market 
town.  His  store  was  in  the  buttery  of  his  house.  Great 
friendliness  prevailed  among  neighbors,  and  there  was 
much  social  visiting,  and  a  general  spirit  of  hospital- 
ity. Rye  and  Indian  bread  was  the  staple  article  of  diet. 
This  was  made  of  two-thirds  corn  meal,  and  one-third 
rye. 

The  condition  of  our  New  England  communities  at  the 
beginning  of  this  century  was  in  many  respects  most 
enviable.  "  Nobody  was  rich,  or  poor  :  all  were  well-to- 
do.  The  church  bell  was  within  sound,  and  the  district 
school-house  within  reach  of  the  entire  population.  The 
families  were  generally  large.  A  dozen  children  was  the 
standard  number.  Everybody  worked,  everybody  read 
and  studied.  The  men  worked  hard  all  through  the 
Summer,  and  thought  hard  all  through  the  Winter. 
None  of  the  energies  of  life  were  prostituted  to  the  greed 
of  gain,  and  none  of  the  powers  of  the  mind  frittered 
away  in  vain  attempts  to  outdo  one  another  in  extrava- 
gance of  expenditure." 

As  indicative  of  the  crude  and  tentative  condition  of 
affairs  in  this   period,  allusion    should    be   made    to  the 


188  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

entries  on  the  town  records  in  regard  to  inoculation  for 
the  small-pox.  That  was  the  contagious  disease  most  to  be 
dreaded  in  that  time  of  general  ignorance  of  any  scientific 
method  of  treatment.  1785,  March  7,  the  town  voted  to 
put  this  matter  in  charge  of  a  committee  appointed  for 
the  purpose.  No  person  was  to  be  inoculated  without 
their  permission.  And  the  fact  of  recovery  was  to  be 
certified  after  careful  examination,  by  a  physician  to  be 
appointed  for  this  purpose  by  the  committee.  Some  still 
living,  remember  the  pest-houses,  rude  cabins  where  those 
duly  inoculated,  some  half  dozen  at  a  time,  were  cared  for 
by  nurses  who  had  themselves  passed  safely  through  the 
disease. 

One  indication  of  the  predominance  of  agricultural 
interests  in  the  early  history  of  the  town,  is  the  frequent 
entry  by  the  town  clerk  of  the  "  marks  of  creatures,"  as 
chosen  by  the  different  farmers.  Nathan  Ball's,  for 
instance,  was  "  a  hollow  crop  in  end  of  left  ear,  and  a 
happeny  cut  on  the  upper  side  the  wright  ear."  He 
chose  this,  which  was  formerly  Prince  West's,  when  West 
moved  out  of  town  in  May,  1792. 

One  of  the  marks  of  a  primitive  period,  was  the  right 
claimed  to  pasture  swine  and  cattle  in  the  streets.  The 
hog-reeve,  whose  duty  it  was  to  see  that  swine  running  at 
large  were  duly  ringed  and  yoked,  and  to  impound  all 
stray  cattle,  was  as  recognized  an  important  official  as  the 
shire-reeve,  (sheriff).  Not  till  1816,  do  we  find  a  record 
to  the  effect  that  "  swine  should  not  run  at  large  at  any 
rate,"  and  not  until  1859  was  the  right  to  pasture  cattle 
in  the  highway  abridged  by  vote  of  the  town  in  accord- 
ance with  authority  conferred  by  the  State  law.  The 
hog-reeve's  occupation  from  this  time  forth  was  pretty 
much  a  nullity.  The  office  was  continued,  and  was 
usually  conferred  as  a  joke  on  some  recent  benedicts. 
With  the  disappearance  of  cattle  from  the  highway,  the 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  189 

town  pound  also  disappeared,  and  more  recently  the  cus- 
tom of  fencing  by  the  road-side  was  found  to  be  a  useless 
expense,  and  is  slowly  becoming  obsolete. 

To  the  rude  log-houses  of  the  first  settlers  succeeded 
such  small  framed  houses  as  the  terms  of  the  grants 
required  should  be  built.  The  house  in  which  Fenner 
Foote  lived  may  be  regarded  as  a  representative  of  this 
style,  and  ought,  on  that  account,  to  be  preserved  for  the 
instruction  of  future  generations.  As  wealth  increased, 
say  from  1790  onwards,  a  better  style  of  farm-house, 
generally  one  story  high,  came  into  fashion.  Of  late 
years  these  have  been  extensively  altered,  repaired,  gener- 
ally raised  another  story,  and  remodelled ;  but  such  a  house 
as  John  Bowen's  will  afford  a  good  specimen  of  the  old 
style.  The  front  door  had  a  massive  knocker  and  latch 
handle.  It  opened  upon  a  hall,  or  stairway  rather,  which 
had  doors  opening  on  either  side  to  the  front  rooms.  On 
one  side  the  best  room,  seldom  opened :  on  the  other,  the 
sitting-room.  The  stairs  twisted  steeply  upwards,  with 
square  turns  and  landing  places.  A  huge  chimney  occu- 
pied the  center  of  the  house.  Beneath  the  roof,  this  was 
built  of  stone :  above  the  roof,  it  was  topped  with  brick, 
and  stood  squarely  solid,  giving  an  air  of  stability  and 
strength  to  the  whole  house.  Across  the  rear  of  the 
house,  back  of  the  chimney,  extended  the  kitchen.  From 
one  end  a  part  was  taken  off  for  the  cellar  stair  way  and 
the  back  stairs  above,  adjoining  which  was  the  passage  way 
to  the  side-door.  On  the  other  end  of  the  kitchen  was  a 
bed-room  or  buttery.  Beyond  the  kitchen  was  the  milk- 
room  with  the  cheese-room.  Beyond  this,  the  wood-house 
came,  and  next  the  carriage-house,  if  any ;  or  these  would 
be  set  at  right  angles  to  the  main  building.  These  houses 
large  and  roomy,  were  built  beyond  the  means  of  the 
owners  to  finish  at  once.  As  the  ability  and  size  of  the 
family  increased,    one  room  after  another  was  finished. 


190  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Sometimes  the  children  slept  in  chambers  not  plastered 
nor  ceiled.  The  stars  could  be  seen  twinkling  in  the  sky 
at  night,  or  the  coverlet  in  the  morning  would  be  white 
with  the  snow  that  had  drifted  down.  The  children  in 
one  family  had  the  measles  at  a  time  when  the  gable  end 
of  the  house,  of  loose  boards,  fell  in  before  a  driving 
storm  :  but  as  plenty  of  fresh  air  was  recommended  in 
sickness  of  this  kind,  the  children  went  through  the 
troublesome  malady  all  right.  The  chambers  were  cold, 
and  the  warming-pan  was  an  indispensable  requisite  to 
make  one  comfortable  for  the  night.  The  high  four- 
posted  bedstead  with  tester  and  valance,  and  curtains  of 
copper-plate  chintz,  gave  the  impression  that  sleeping  was 
considered  a  part  of  the  serious  business  of  life,  for  which 
most  formidable  preparation  must  be  made.  Feather- 
beds,  piled  halfway  to  the  ceiling,  and  covered  with  snow- 
white  tufted  spreads,  suggested  a  resemblance  between 
going  to  bed  and  ascending  some  Alpine  summit. 

The  great  kitchen  fireplace  was  the  center  around 
which  the  household  work  revolved  the  greater  part  of 
the  year.  Sometimes  the  huge  back  log  would  be  drawn 
in  by  the  old  horse.  More  frequently  it  was  rolled  into 
its  place  with  a  cant  hook.  The  floor  timbers  would 
shake  with  the  jar  every  time  the  log  was  rolled  over. 

No  "  patent  medicine  "  almanacs,  or  agricultural  news- 
papers, bewildered  our  grandmothers  with  recipes  for  jel- 
lies and  salads,  sauces  and  soups.  Milk  and  mush  made  a 
most  excellent  breakfast  or  supper  for  the  children  in 
these  primitive  homes.  Johnny-cake  twice  a  week,  and 
rye  doughnuts  as  often,  furnished  all  the  variety  thought 
needful.  The  farmers'  dish  of  pork  and  beans,  or  the 
boiled  dish  of  salt  beef  and  cabbage,  called  "  potluck,"  was 
heartily  relished  by  the  men  whose  work  called  for  long 
protracted  muscular  toil.  Hulled  corn  was  a  delicacy. 
In  the  proper  season,  ham  and   eggs  formed  a  favorite 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  191 

dish.  Fresh  meat  was  a  luxury.  Butcher's  carts  did  not 
commence  to  carry  meat  till  about  1828. 

The  kitchen  furniture  was  very  simple.  The  table  was 
of  cherry,  or  there  were  two  tables  that  could  be  put  end 
to  end  when  there  was  company  to  be  entertained  in  ad- 
dition to  the  usual  number  of  the  family.  Hooks  driven 
into  the  ceiling,  supported  poles  on  which  hung  strings 
of  dried  apples,  or  rings  of  ripe  pumpkins.  The  "  dress- 
er," or  open  cupboard,  displayed  an  array  of  burnished 
pewter  plates  and  cups,  and  also  the  wooden  trenchers, 
articles  of  daily  household  use.  The  china  cups,  if  the 
family  had  any,  were  kept  in  the  closet  in  the  best  room, 
and  when  company  was  entertained  were  brought  out 
with  much  ceremonious  apologizing  and  moving  of  chairs 
away  from  the  cupboard  or  dining-room  door.  The 
kitchen  mantle-piece  was  adorned  with  candlesticks  and 
snuffers,  a  well  smoked  Bible  and  a  well  thumbed  almanac. 

About  1820,  wooden  clocks  began  to  be  introduced 
from  Connecticut.  Previous  to  that  time,  the  long  cased 
clock  was  as  much  a  badge  of  family  respectability  as  the 
piano-forte  is  now.  Between  the  windows  hung  a  mirror 
in  a  gilt  frame,  and  on  the  lamp-stand  beneath  was  stored 
the  pile  of  weekly  newspapers,  and  the  literature  of  the 
family.  Around  the  walls  were  ranged  the  chairs  of 
wooden  or  of  splint  bottoms,  and  room  was  found  also 
for  a  chintz-covered  lounge.  Before  the  days  of  the 
present  chromo-civilization,  the  only  specimen  of  the  pic- 
torial arts  that  adorned  the  walls  was  generally  some 
mortuary  memento,  or  the  lithograph  portrait  of  some 
one  of  the  Presidents. 

The  best  rooms  had  no  carpets  before  1820.  Those 
first  used  were  made  of  pieces  of  cloth  sewed  together, 
with  figures  of  different  hues  and  devices  sewed  on  after 
some  simple  pattern  ;  later  came  in  the  rag-carpet,  woven 
in  the  old  hand  loom,  out  of  strips  of  cloth  cut  and  dyed. 


192  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

What  endless  talk  went  on  with  the  planning,  cutting  and 
weaving  of  these  home-made  carpets,  till  they  challenged 
the  admiration  of  every  visitor  by  the  firmness  of  their 
texture,  or  the  splendor  and  clearness  of  their  dyes !  The 
paneling  around  the  room  was  simplicity  itself,  compared 
with  the  high  wooden  mantel-piece  most  elaborately 
ornamented  with  joiner  work  that  baflles  description. 
"  Gingerbread  ornamentation"  it  has  been  named.  Fid- 
dle-back chairs,  straight  and  high,  were  ranged  in  sym- 
metrical order  around  the  room. 

The  people  of  Richmond,  in  those  days,  considered 
themselves  quite  aristocratic,  and  regarded  Lee  people  as 
exceedingly  plain  and  altogether  too  democratic  to  con- 
stitute the  finest  society.  But  refined  society  does  not 
depend  wholly  or  chiefly  on  style  of  household  living  or 
of  personal  attire.  The  style  of  dress  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary period,  was  that  which  had  been  customary  for 
nearly  a  century.  It  was  supplanted  by  the  less  pictur- 
esque, if  more  comfortable  fashion  of  modern  male  apparel. 
Knee  breeches  and  short  clothes  passed  out  of  date.  The 
ruffled  shirt  and  the  swallow-tailed  coat  maintained  their 
place  longer  among  the  essentials  of  a  gentleman's  ward- 
robe. Such  style  of  apparel  was  not  common  among  the 
farmer  folk  of  Lee.  They  were  a  frugal,  hard-working  peo- 
ple. The  leather  apron  was  almost  universally  worn  by 
the  men  and  boys.  Blue  checked  linen  aprons  were  worn 
by  the  women  and  girls.  For  head-gear,  the  men  wore  on 
grand  occasions  tall,  stiff",  beaver  hats;  one  was  expected 
to  last  a  lifetime.  Round  wool  hats  were  the  ordinary 
covering.  The  mothers  made  the  cloth  caps  the  boys 
wore  in  Winter,  and  braided  the  coarse  straw  hats  for 
Summer  wear.  Sun-bonnets  nicely  starched,  were  the 
girls'  simple  covering,  who  had  no  thought  of  such  hide- 
ous deformities  as  modern  fashions  have  imposed  upon 
the  women  of  our  time. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  193 

The  tailoress  and  dress-maker  went  from  house  to 
house  every  Spring  and  Fall  to  help  in  fitting  the  family 
for  the  change  from  Summer  to  Winter  garments.  The 
shoe-maker  carried  his  kit  in  like  manner  from  house  to 
house.  This  was  commonly  called  "  whipping  the  cat." 
Each  family  furnished  the  stock  for  boot  and  shoe  mak- 
ing, and  in  every  town  there  was  needed  a  tanner's  and 
currier's  shop  to  prepare  the  leather.  Three  years'  soak- 
ing in  the  vats  was  considered  none  too  long  to  secure  a 
serviceable  article.  When  David  Baker  and  Ben.  Brown 
were  the  shoe-makers,  engaged  from  year's  end  to  year's 
end,  in  the  sacred  mysteries  of  their  craft,  their  fashion  was 
to  leave  home  Monday  morning  to  fulfil  their  engage- 
ments, and  return  Saturday  evening.  Night  and  day  the 
work  was  going  on,  and  the  weekly  wages  of  six  dollars 
was  thought  ample  pay.  When  the  measure  of  the  foot 
was  taken,  the  custom  was  to  stand  against  the  wall  of 
the  house,  with  the  heel  firmly  held  against  the  mop- 
board.  The  sharp  knife  that  looked  as  if  it  would  take 
off  a  piece  of  the  toe,  was  stuck  in  the  floor.  "  Now, 
stand  aside,"  was  the  next  direction  given,  and  then  with 
a  splint  or  twig,  the  length  of  the  foot  was  noted.  Care 
was  taken  to  make  the  shoe  or  boot  broad  enough,  but 
whether  it  was  broad-toed,  or  square-toed,  or  round-toed, 
wTas  not  a  question  of  much  importance.  When  the  peo- 
ple walked  to  church,  they  often  would  carry  their  shoes 
till  within  the  last  half  mile ;  then  wear  them  to  "  meet- 
ing," with  the  sweet  consciousness  of  having  saved  unnec- 
essary wear  of  shoe-leather. 

The  women  found  their  hands  and  hours  fully  occupied 
in  providing  within  doors  for  the  varied  wants  of  the 
household,  while  the  men  were  kept  busily  at  work  in  the 
labors  of  the  field. 

There  was  no  better  school  for  the  training  of  the 
young  to  diligence  and  enterprise,  than  was  furnished  by 
25 


194  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

the  varying  experience  of  New  England  farm-life.  Each 
day  had  its  regular  work,  hut  that  work  was  so  varied  as 
to  demand,  almost  moment  hy  moment,  the  exercise  of 
sound  judgment  in  deciding  what  was  to  he  done,  and 
how  it  was  best  to  do  it.  There  must  be  planning  and 
contrivance  to  make  the  most  of  the  limited  resources 
of  the  household.  With  this  constant  need  of  fore- 
thought, it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  the  farmers  of  the 
town  were  so  generally  fore-handed  and  thrifty.  The 
farmers'  wives  had  no  time  to  spend  in  bemoaning  their 
nervousness  and  taking  drugs  for  various  weaknesses ; 
yet  neither  were  they  so  overburdened  with  work,  as  to 
be  only  drudges,  rather  than  companions  and  counselors 
for  husbands  and  children. 

The  common  method  of  traveling  was  on  horseback. 
There  were  side-saddles  for  the  women,  but  most  fre- 
quently they  rode  on  a  pillion  behind  the  husband,  or 
brother,  or  beau  chevalier.  Children  would  sometimes 
be  taken  by  the  father  to  school  on  horseback,  two  riding 
behind  him,  two  in  front,  and  one  held  in  his  lap.  Dr. 
Hyde's  chaise  was  the  first  one  owned  in  town.  'Squire 
Yale's  made  its  appearance  about  the  same  time.  'Squire 
Whiton  had  for  his  family,  a  four-wheeled  covered  car- 
riage with  thorough-braces.  Dr.  Sergeant  rode  in  a  gig  ; 
Dr.  Bartlett  on  a  buck-board. 

A  stranger  coming  to  Lee  at  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century,  would  have  seen  little  to  lead  him  to 
anticipate  the  closely  packed,  intensely  busy  community 
of  the  present  day.  There  was  not  even  a  sufficiently 
large  cluster  of  houses  around  the  meeting-house  to  indi- 
cate the  center  of  a  thriving  farming  community.  Not  a 
house  of  any  kind  was  then  on  the  west  side  of  Main 
street,  and  on  the  east  side  only  the  one-stoiy  house,  long 
known  as  the  Barna  Adams  place,  now  owned  by  Elizur 
Smith,  on   what  is   now   the   corner   of  Franklin   street. 


RESIDENCE  OF  DeWITT  S.  SMITH. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  195 

'Squire  Jenkins,  who  had  first  lived  on  the  hill  east  of 
John  B.  Freeman's  present  residence,  moved  into  the  vil- 
lage, and  lived,  where  DeWitt  S.  Smith  now  lives,  in  a  one- 
story  house.  Cornelius  Bassett,  a  mason  by  trade,  occu- 
pied a  one-story  house  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  West 
Park  streets,  and  the  cellar  walls  now  form  a  substantial 
foundation  for  the  beautiful  residence  of  Wellington 
Smith.  Indeed,  the  timbers  of  the  first  story  of  the 
present  mansion  are  the  same  that  were  in  the  house  of 
Mr.  Bassett.  Cornelius  T.  Fessenden,  the  merchant,  occu- 
pied a  small  house  on  the  corner  east  of  the  Park,  which 
now  constitutes  the  rear  of  the  house  standing  on  this 
corner.  Nathaniel  Bassett,  the  blacksmith  of  this  part  of 
the  town,  lived  where  Mr.  E.  A.  Moore,  who  married  his 
granddaughter,  now  lives,  and  Maj.  Nathan  Dillingham, 
the  hotel-keeper  and  business  man,  occupied  the  old  "  Red 
Lion,"  as  his  tavern  was  called,  from  its  being  painted  red 
and  having  the  figure  of  a  lion  for  its  sign. 

Dillingham  and  Fessenden  kept  store  in  the  building 
which  is  now  the  residence  of  William  Bartlett.  The 
store  was  the  place  to  hear  the  news.  Either  there,  or 
at  the  "  Red  Lion  "  tavern,  the  men  gathered  to  talk  over 
village  politics,  or  tell  tales  of  former  experiences,  or  re- 
hearse the  traditionary  lore  of  family  or  community. 
They  amused  themselves  often  in  playing  upon  each 
other  rough,  practical  jokes.  The  newspaper  did  not 
then  bring  to  every  man's  door  the  knowledge  of  all 
events  of  interest,  near  and  far,  within  each  preceding 
twent}^-four  hours.  No  persons  made  it  their  business  to 
furnish  entertainment  for  other  people.  Yet  fun  they 
had,  rather  boisterous  and  rude,  it  must  be  confessed. 
Diversions  of  some  kind  are  a  necessity  of  human  nature. 
Amid  all  the  austerities  and  rigidities  of  those  days,  hal- 
lowed to  us  by  veneration  for  the  right  principles  of  con- 
duct   and    character    maintained    by    our    New    England 


196  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

ancestry,  relaxations  were  sought  in  modes  which  now 
would  be  considered  low-toned. 

Every  occasion  for  social  enjoyment  was  eagerly  im- 
proved. Going  to  meeting  was  desirable  for  its  opportu- 
nity for  social  intercourse,  as  well  as  for  the  exercises  of 
public  devotion  to  which  the  sanctuary  was  consecrated. 
The  town  meeting  was  an  opportunity  for  development 
of  powers  of  thought,  expression,  and  leadership.  It  was 
a  principal  element  in  the  formation  of  the  New  England 
type  of  character,  thoughtful,  independent,  sensitive  to 
public  opinion,  yet  conscious  of  individual  responsibility 
in  the  maintenance  of  correct  and  honorable  public  senti- 
ment. A  large  class,  of  course,  neither  appreciated  nor 
desired  mental  and  moral  qualities  and  powers,  so  much 
as  they  did  the  manifestation  of  physical  strength,  and 
indulgence  in  hilarious  merriment. 

One  Winter  evening,  Messrs.  Porter  and  Goodspeed 
bad  been  boasting  in  Dillingham's  store  of  the  merits  of 
their  horses.  The  clerk,  Nat.  Backus,  slily  fastened  a 
coil  of  rope  to  the  hitching  post  and  to  the  sleigh  ;  then 
urged  them  to  show  the  speed  of  the  old  mare  which 
stood  waiting  for  them  at  the  door.  He  backed  the 
sleigh  up  to  the  post,  handed  them  the  reins,  and  at  the 
word  "  Go,"  off  they  started.  The  old  horse  sprang  for- 
ward, went  about  two  rods,  and  then  stopped  with  a  sud- 
den jerk  that  sent  the  men  out  of  the  sleigh  over  the 
dasher.  A  second  trial  resulted  in  a  similar  spill,  when 
suspecting  the  trick,  Goodspeed  jumped  out,  cut  off  the 
rope  at  the  post,  threw  it  into  the  sleigh,  and  without  a 
word  of  inquiry  or  reprimand  drove  off,  undoubtedly 
thinking  he  had  the  best  of  the  joke. 

Major  Dillingham  was  the  village  poet,  and  some  of 
his  humorous  versification  is  still  handed  down  in  the 
older  families,  as  reminiscenes  of  old-time  ways.  Mr. 
Daniel  Foote,  having  lost  an  umbrella,  put  up  a  notice  of 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  197 

his  loss  in  the  post-office,  but  in  such  a  crabbed  style  of 
hand-writing,  that  Major  Dillingham  was  tempted  to  per- 
petrate a  piece  of  friendly  criticism  : 

"  Daniel  read  the  writing  on  the  wall  and  gave  the  interpretation, 
Bnt  never  a  Daniel  since  the  fall  could  read  such  a  notification." 

The  Sabbath  was  a  day  of  abstinence  as  complete  as  it 
could  be  made,  from  all  ordinary  household  work.  Reck- 
oning it  as  beginning,  according  to  the  old  Jewish  cus- 
tom, from  sunset  Saturday,  it  was  the  custom  to  have 
all  work  cease  about  an  hour  previous.  Clothes  were  to 
be  mended,  and  clean  ones  laid  out  in  readiness  for  the 
Sabbath ;  even  shaving  was  all  done  Saturday  that  there 
might  be  no  unnecessary  infringement  on  holy  time. 
The  Bible  was  brought  out,  and  all  noise  sternly  prohib- 
ited. The  Sabbath  day  dinner  of  baked  beans,  and  baked 
Indian  pudding,  was  kept  hot  in  the  oven,  waiting  the 
return  of  the  f amity  from  church.  Family  prayers  were 
duly  observed  on  the  Sabbath  day,  if  they  had  small  time 
alloted  them  on  week-clays.  The  sermon — text,  heads, 
applications, — was  rehearsed,  more  attention  being  paid 
to  what  Avas  said  than,  as  now,  to  the  manner  of  saying  it. 

The  vices  and  faults  of  the  olden  time  were  such  as  be- 
long to  a  ruder,  a  less  artificial  state  of  society,  than  our 
present  social  surroundings.  There  was  general  friendli- 
ness of  feeling ;  kindly  interest  in  one  another.  If  a 
neighbor  wanted  the  loan  of  a  horse  to  go  to  meeting  or 
to  mill,  to  attend  a  funeral  or  to  make  a  visit,  such  a  fa- 
vor was  freely  proffered.  In  case  of  family  troubles,  the 
neighbors  would  come  in  to  talk  over  the  affair,  and  to 
tender  their  advice  as  well  as  sympathy  and  help.  Quar- 
rels there  were  in  neighborhoods  and  churches,  often  over 
very  trivial  matters,  and  kept  up  with  persistent  infatua- 
tion. But  the  average  sentiment  of  the  community  was 
sturdily   and    steadily  on    the   side  of  right  and   justice. 


198  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Poverty  was  not  so  much  of  a  bar,  as  it  is  now,  to  posi- 
tion and  welcome  in  general  society.  Tricks  to  defraud 
creditors,  or  to  inveigle  the  unwary,  were  not  so  common 
as  in  these  days  of  mad,  reckless  haste  to  be  rich.  There 
was  no  such  opportunity  as  now,  for  the  embezzlement  of 
trust  funds,  and  the  gigantic  stealing  of  railroads,  by  the 
very  magnitude  and  audacity  of  the  operation  to  dazzle 
the  public  into  forge tfulness  of  the  crime.  Industry, 
honesty,  energy,  and  economy,  were  regarded  as  the 
main  reliance  for  the  accumulation  of  wealth.  There 
were  distinctions  and  grades  in  society,  and  for  a  time,  as 
in  the  old  practice  of  "  seating  the  meeting-house,"  and 
"  dignifying  the  seats,"  an  attempt  to  estimate  and  fix  by 
some  arbitrary  standard,  each  person's  social  worth  and 
rank.  But  such  an  attempt  was  contrary  to  the  anima- 
ting spirit  of  our  social  and  political  institutions,  and  it 
was  abandoned  as  irritating  and  impracticable.  The  min- 
ister, as  the  one  trained  thinker  of  the  community,  made 
upon  the  people  the  impress  of  a  higher  life  than  earthly, 
a  deeper  life  than  the  life  of  appearance,  a  power  in  right- 
eousness to  direct  and  govern  the  life,  just  as  the  church 
edifice,  differing  from  and  towering  above  the  ordinary 
buildings,  was  a  constant,  silent  witness  for  God  and  for 
the  reality  of  His  higher  law.  "  The  divine  sovereignty  " 
was  a  favorite  topic  in  the  religious  talk  of  those  clays,  as 
prominent  as  the  modern  scientist's  disquisitions  on  the 
uniformity  of  the  laws  of  nature.  Dr.  Shepard  used  to 
say  of  Dr.  Hyde  that  "he  was  a  born  minister."  Never 
was  he  unmindful  of  his  high  calling  to  a  spiritual  leader- 
ship. Duty  was  inculcated  in  the  daily  conduct  of  life, 
as  earnestly  and  persistently  as  was  the  fundamental  doc- 
trine of  the  Gospel  that  for  the  attainment  of  life's  great 
cud  there  must  be  personal  consecration  to  Christ  as  the 
only  and  all-sufficient  Divine  Redeemer.  No  one,  young 
or  old,  could  be  absent  from  church,  and  expect  that  Dr. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  199 

Hyde  would  overlook  it.  "  I  did  not  see  you  in  your 
place  last  Sabbath.  Were  you  sick  ?  "  would  be  an  in- 
quiry sure  to  be  made  before  another  Sabbath  came 
round.  No  event  of  marked  importance  could  transpire 
in  the  family  history,  that  the  faithful  pastor  did  not 
make  an  occasion  for  pertinent  religious  exhortation. 
Yet  it  was  all  done  in  such  a  spirit  of  kindly  considera- 
tion and  of  personal  interest,  that  no  offence  could  be 
taken. 

Strong  drink  was  the  cause  of  most  of  the  thriftlessness 
of  those  days,  as  it  is  of  the  pauperism  and  crime  of  the 
present.  All  classes  drank.  Stimulants  were  supposed 
to  be  undeniably  necessary.  Farmers  could  not  believe 
that  their  work  would  be  better  done,  or  clone  at  all, 
without  some  "white-face,"  New  England  rum,  or  some 
"  black-strap,"  rum  sweetened  writh  molasses.  Toddy 
and  flip  were  common  beverages.  Everybody  drank,  and 
only  when  manners  and  morals  grew  steadily  worse,  did 
any  one  recognize  in  the  prevailing  drinking  usages  of 
society,  the  source  and  head  of  the  direful  evils  with 
which  society  was  cursed.  When  Dr.  Field  came  over 
from  Stockbridge  to  attend  some  extra  meeting  in  the 
East  Lee  school-house,  he  stopped  at  some  house  near 
by,  to  take  something  warm.  Those  that  attended  meet- 
ing, thought  the  preacher's  eyes  were  brighter,  and  his 
tongue  more  glib,  because  of  the  extra  good  liquor  that 
had  been  furnished  him.  At  every  meeting  of  the  neigh- 
boring ministers  at  Dr.  Hyde's,  pipes  and  tobacco,  glasses 
and  the  wine  bottle  were  to  be  provided  for  the  com- 
pany. When  John  B.  Perry,  a  son  of  the  minister  in 
Richmond,  kept  store  in  Lee,  one  of  Dr.  Hyde's  sons  was 
sent  to  get  the  bottle  filled.  "Seems  to  me,"  snid  the 
storekeeper,  "  those  ministers  drink  a  great  deal."  "  Yes, 
they  do ; "  was  the  reply,  "  there's  one  old  codger  by  the 
name   of  Perry,   that's   a    regular  old  soaker."      It  was 


200  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

through  the  ministry  and  the  pulpit,  however,  that  the 
people  were  convinced  of  the  evils  of  intemperance,  and 
incited  to  take  measures  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  After  the 
truth  began  to  be  recognized,  old  social  customs  were 
abandoned,  yet  not  before  many  had  gone  down  to  the 
drunkard's  grave,  and  irreparable  injury  had  been  done 
to  children  and  to  children's  children. 

SOCIAL  LIFE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  OF  THE  CENTUEY. 

BY    BEY.    E.    W.    BEXTLEY,    D.    D. 

The  interior  life  of  Lee  was  moulded  by  two  forces  ;  first,  the  char- 
acter and  circumstances  of  its  founders  and  earl}-  settlers  ;  ami  sec- 
ondly, by  tlic  Puritan  idea  of  the  supremacy  of  the  church  over  the 
State.  The  early  inhabitants  <>f  the  town,  for  the  most  part,  stood  on 
a  social  and  financial  equality.  None  were  very  rich  and  few  were 
very  poor.  And  in  education  and  general  intelligence  none  towered 
much  above  the  general  level.  The  great  majority  of  them  were  trained 
to  industrious  habits,  and  expected  to  get  on  in  the  world  by  honesl 
and  earnest  hard  work.  Labor  was  in  high  repute  among  them,  for  by 
means  of  it  alone  could  they  conquer  success  in  the  strife  for  wealth 
and  honor.  Hence  a  man's  industry  was  a  large  factor  in  computing  f  lie 
problem  of  his  social  position.  And  industry  again  was  rated  by  the 
morality  and  intelligence  which  made  it  effective.  Starting  thus,  and 
going  forward  side  by  side,  those  early  neighbors  kept  well  abreast  of 
one  another,  and  no  great  social  distinctions  grew  up  among  them.  If 
some  succeeded  better  than  others,  there  were  yet  few  who  failed  alto- 
gether. They  were  at  first  mainly  farmers,  wdio  coaxed  and  wrested 
their  living  from  the  grudging  hands  of  their  mother  earth.  In  a 
neighborly  way  they  helped  one  another,  the  man  of  many  acres  using 
the  surplus  labor  of  the  smaller  farmers,  and  they  in  turn,  eking  oul 
their  deficient  harvests  from  the  superabundance  of  the  larger.  And 
thus  there  grew  up  between  them  a  sense  of  mutual  dependence  and  a 
community  of  good  feeling  which  kept  down  ambitious  strifes  and 
petty  alienations.  As  for  jealousies  between  crafts  and  tradesmen, 
there  were  too  few  of  them,  ami  one  was  too  much  beholden  to  another 
to  admit  of  any  great  competition.  The  professional  men  who  came 
among  them  were  accepted  for  what  they  proved  to  be  worth;  and 
the\  fortunately  had  the  good  sense  to  put  on  no  airs.  Conceding  to 
the  law  that  all  labor  is  equally  honorable,  chey  arrogated  nothing  of 
superiority   for  head-work   over   hand-work.       Hence    the   farmer  and 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  201 

lawyer  were  on  social  good  terms,  and  the  doctor  and  the  blacksmith 
greeted  one  another  with  mutual  respect. 

Nor  did  this  state  of  things  change  essentially  as  the  "Center" 
grew,  and  the  two  phases  of  society,  village  life  and  farm,  or  country 
life  stood  side  by  side.  The  extremes  of  style  and  fashion  never  took 
deep  root  in  the  village ;  and  in  the  essentials  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment the  farmers'  families  never  allowed  themselves  to  fall  far  below 
the  standard  in  the  village.  Hence  there  was  never  any  "  great  gulf 
fixed"  between  the  "  country  "  and  the  "town."  Social  intercourse 
between  them  was  constant.  In  all  matters  of  public  concern,  they 
usually  managed  to  see  eye  to  eye.  The  farmer's  jealousy  of  the  vil- 
lager, and  the  villager's  impatience  with  the  farmer,  influences  which 
have  marred  the  development  of  more  than  one  New  England  town, 
never  attained  to  any  formidable  strength  in  Lee.  There  was  always 
some  compromise  at  hand  to  bridge  over  any  differences  of  judgment 
between  them.  The  entire  population  of  tbe  town  were  therefore  held 
well  together,  and  no  local  feuds  or  divisions  existed  among  them. 
They  had  no  men  of  great  wealth  to  wield  the  money-power  over  them. 
They  had  no  aristocratic  "first  families1'  who  prided  themselves  on 
their  "blue  blood"'  and  the  long  life  of  their  genealogical  tree.  They 
had  no  famous  names  which  overshadowed  all  other  names,  and  super- 
seded all  other  cards  of  introduction  to  places  of  honor  and  influence. 
On  the  contrary,  they  measured  each  other  by  a  rule  of  positive  worth, 
and  leadership  fell,  as  a  general  thing,  to  the  most  deserving. 

The  social  life  of  Lee,  as  I  knew  it  forty  years  ago,  was  exceedingly 
simple,  and  very  little  restricted  by  forms  and  ceremonies.  Any 
man  of  known  good  character  and  an  average  common  sense,  found 
little  difficulty  in  working  his  way  into  any  circle.  The  larger  and 
more  formal  "parties'' — "receptions"  were  then  unknown — or  were 
not  of  frequent  occurrence ;  since  in  the  estimates  of  the  more  staid 
and  sober,  they  savored  of  "  worldly  vanity."  The  givers  of  them 
were  credited  with  a  desire  either  to  imitate  "an  ungodly  world,"  or 
else  to  outshine  their  neighbors,  which  was  an  offense  quite  as  intol- 
erable. Yet  when  such  a  thing  did  occur,  there  was  usually  no  lack 
of  guests,  the  uncharitable  ones  being  especially  anxious  to  confirm 
their  suspicions  by  oceular  proof.  But  upon  the  more  informal  gath- 
erings, no  such  restriction  was  laid.  The  young  people  met  and 
mingled  with  great  freedom.  On  these  occasions  the  chief  means  of 
warding  off  stiffness  and  stupidity  were  the  old-fashioned  games  of 
"  Copenhagen,"  ••'button,  button,"  "forfeits,"  and  the  like.  Dancing 
was  ruled  out  by  public  opinion,  and  they  who  were  bold  enough  to 
engage  in  it.  seldom  cared  to  boast  of  their  courage.  Cards,  and  all 
2G 


202  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

games  of  chance  were  strictly  banned,  being  looked  upon  as  the  devil's 
own  tools,  and  no  respectable  hands  cared  to  touch  them.  In  the 
country  neighborhoods  the  nine  o'clock  bell  was  tbe  usual  signal  for 
dispersion.  For  lovers,  Sabbath  evening  was  the  day  of  the  week  for 
which  all  other  days  were  made.  Sunday  began  at  the  going  down  of 
tbe  sun  on  Saturday,  a  custom  which  left  the  swain  free  to  worship  at 
the  shrine  of  Cupid,  unhampered  by  any  fear  of  breaking  the  fourth 
commandment.  And  besides  this,  was  be  not,  having  "been  to  meet- 
ing'" during  tbe  day,  ready  dressed  for  tbe  service  *.'  As  a  result  of 
tins  use  of  Sunday  nights,  there  commonly  appeared,  sooner  or  later, 
beside  the  church  door  a  brilliantly  illuminated  poster  reading  some- 
how thus:  ''0  yes!  0  yes!  Mr.  Blank  of  this  town  and  Miss  So- 
and-so  of  this  (or  some  other)  town  intend  marriage.  Attest,  Ransom 
Hinnian,  Town  Clerk."  Never  again  will  there  shine  forth  such 
splendid  "Publishments"  as  issued  from  the  hand  of  that  prince  of 
penmen,  Ransom  Hinnian.  I  recall  a  lady  friend  of  those  days,  who 
said  she  was  induced  to  name  an  earlier  day  than  she  bad  at  first  des- 
ignated, by  a  sly  suggestion  of  her  "intended,"  that  Mr.  Hinman's 
term  of  office  was  about  to  expire  and  he  might  not  be  re-elected. 

Among  neighboring  women,  afternoon  visits  were  much  in  vogue. 
They  took  their  sewing  or  knitting  with  them  and  began  their  session 
as  early  as  half-past  two,  or  three  o'clock:  continuing  it  till  "'chore- 
time."  The  subjects  discussed  at  these  sittings  took  a  wide  range,  from 
"New  Measures"  to  "Navarino  bonnets,'*  and  from  the  last  Sunday's 
sermon  to  the  virtues  of  "  opedildoc  "  in  cases  of  croup.  The  sup- 
pers— they  had  no  "teas'' — on  these  occasions,  were  models  of  house- 
wifely skill  and  ingenuity,  the  hostess  seeming  to  take  it  for  granted 
that  she  was  on  trial  before  a  jury  of  her  peers.  Sometimes  the  pur- 
pose of  the  visit  was  a  "quilting,"  to  which  the  older  girls  were  also 
invited  and  stayed  into  the  evening,  when  the  boys  were  expected  to 
come  in  and  "  assist  "  in  their  peculiar  fashion.  These  not  being  full- 
dress  occasions,  calico  gowns  predominated  with  short  waists  and  great 
puffed-out  sleeves  from  the  shoulders  to  the  elbows.  To  these  were 
added  a  "  vandyke,"  and  white  lace  caps  with  a  border  broad  or  nar- 
row, according  to  tbe  wearer's  taste.  The  cloaks  of  these  days  hung 
straight  from  head  to  foot  and  were  of  a  Scotch  plaid  pattern,  with  all 
the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  and  some  that  were  nut.  crossing  each  other 
at  right  angles.  The  bonnets  were  of  the  "coal-scuttle"  variety — 
although  then  no  mortal  could  tell  what  a  coal  scuttle  was  like. — in- 
terspersed with  the  green  -calash.'*  which  opened  and  shut  like  a 
modern  carriage  top.  "Mitts,'"  a  sort  of  cross  between  a  mitten  and 
a  glove,  covered  the  hand  and  about  an  inch  of  each  linger.      Fashion, 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  203 

no  less  imperious  then  than  now,  was  still  less  fickle.  Her  moods — 
or  modes — could  then  be  predicted  for  the  next  six  months  with  toler- 
able exactness. 

The  women  of  that  day  were  notable  workers.  Modern  Bridget- 
ism  had  not  tried  their  patience  and  unstrung  their  nerves  ;  they  were 
not  tormented  by  sewing-machines  and  patent  wringers  ;  nor  "  worried 
to  death  "  by  dress-maker's  blunders,  and  twelve-buttoned  gloves.  And 
hence  they  found  time  and  strength  to  spin  their  daily  "  run,"'"  to 
weave  the  Winter's  need  of  homespun,  and  then  to  do  much,  if  not  all, 
the  cutting  and  making  of  it  into  the  Winter's  family-wear.  How 
they  found  time  for  social  intercourse,  for  self-culture,  and  for  charita- 
ble work,  must  ever  remain  a  mystery  to  the  modern  advocates  of 
female  suffrage.  It  suits  the  orators  of  to-day  to  praise  the  "  Fathers 
of  New  England,"  but  whatever  they  were  their  mothers  made  them. 
Blowing  aside  a  good  deal  of  froth  and  foam  it  is  possible  to  get  at  a 
deep  residuum  of  substantial  fact  in  what  has  been  written  and  de- 
claimed about  New  England  influence  and  the  soundness  and  worth  of 
New  England  principles ;  but  I  venture  to  say  that  for  what  is  char- 
acteristically good  and  distinctively  influential  in  the  "down  East" 
nature  and  work  ;  the  world  is  indebted  quite  as  much  to  New  England 
mothers  as  to  New  England  fathers. 

The  moral  and  religious  life  of  Lee  was  shaped  in  a  great  measure 
by  the  other  force  which  I  have  named.  The  old  Puritan  idea  of  a 
Commonwealth  was  a  confederation  of  independent  sovereignties.  It 
made  the  town — an  autonomy  in  itself — the  basis  of  the  State.  In 
this  system  a  town  was  a  territory  some  six  miles  square,  more  or  less, 
with  a  '•  meeting-house  "  in  the  geographical  center  of  it :  no  matter 
if  that  center  came  upon  the  top  of  the  highest  rock  in  the  township. 
And  that  meeting-house  was  the  nucleus  around  which  all  interests  in 
the  town  crystallized ;  and  the  center  whence  radiated  all  the  influen- 
ces that  determined  the  town  character  and  life.  In  it,  or  in  close 
proximity  to  it,  all  public  business  of  the  town  was  transacted  ;  and 
to  it  all  residents  of  the  township  were  expected  to  go  up  as  regularly 
as  the  Sabbaths  returned.  And  in  Lee  this  pre-eminence  of  religious 
over  secular  concerns,  was  early  established  and  long  maintained. 
There  may  have  been  in  it,  or  about  it,  a  lingering  relic  of  the  old 
"  Half-way  covenant  "  notion,  that  a  man  must  be  conformed  to  the 
church  in  morals  at  least,  if  he  would  be  qualified  for  preferment  in 
the  State,  but  certainly  there  was  nothing  of  that  in  the  theology 
that  was  preached.  That  was  Calvinistic  through  and  through.  For 
nearly  fifty  years  there  was  no  competing  creed  in  town ;  at  least  any 
that  took  on  organic  form.     Whatever  of  dissent,  disbelief,  or  unbe- 


204  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

lief  there  was  did  not  collect  its  forces  and  challenge  public  recogni- 
tion. Hence  the  Congregational  Clinic]],  under  the  continuous  and 
systematic  leadership  of  Dr.  Hyde,  went  on  with  its  work  unmolested, 
and  gave  unquestioned  law  to  public  sentiment.  Fortunately,  Dr. 
Hyde  was  an  honest  man.  He  believed  what  he  preached,  and 
preached  what  he  believed.  He  taught  the  faith  that  was  in  him.  and 
taught  it  in  such  a  way  that  bis  people  knew  it  was  in  him.  Accord- 
ingly they  took  in  all  that  lie  gave  them,  doctrine,  metaphysics,  exe- 
gesis and  all.  Dr.  Hyde  trained  up  a  townfull  of  theologians.  Men, 
women  and  children  discussed  original  sin  and  fore-ordination.  And 
with  honest  Dr.  Hyde,  faith  without  works  was  dead  ;  theory  that  did  not 
lead  on  to  practice  was  a  mere  tinkling  cymbal.  Lee  people  in  those 
days  were  not  literary;  they  did  not  multiply  books  and  papers;  and 
therefore,  Dr.  Hyde's  teachings  were  not  overlaid  and  smothered  by 
imported  facts  and  notions.  They  had,  or  took,  time  during  the  week 
to  examine  and  store  away  right  side  up,  the  lessons  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  as  a  general  rule  they  put  religion  and  moralit\r  in  alternate  lay- 
ers. All  practical  subjects  took  on  a  moral,  if  not  a  religious,  aspect. 
The  question  of  expediency  seldom  went  before,  but  usually  followed 
after  that  of  right  and  wrong.  It  was  so  in  politics,  in  all  matters  of 
moral  reform,  and  usually  so  in  all  business  transactions.  Certainly 
all  violations  of  this  practice  were  followed  by  a  severe  penalty.  The 
man  who  did  not  go  to  meeting  lost  caste  ;  a  dishonest  man  was  de- 
spised ;  a  profane  man  or  a  hard  drinker,  was  converted  into  an 
"awful  example  "  and  used  "  to  point  a  moral  or  adorn  a  tale."  In 
politics  Lee  was  largely  of  one  mind.  All  good  children  were  born 
whigs,  and  it  took  a  deal  of  other  kinds  of  goodness  to  compensate 
for  the  sin  of  being  a  democrat.  There  may  have  been  in  those  days 
political  corruption  in  town  affairs,  but  if  so.  it  must  have  had  a 
growth  like  that  of  plants  in  the  dark.  A  man  stained  in  character 
was  rarely  named  for  office  ;  and  if  he  was,  he  usually  needed  more 
votes  than  he  got,  to  elect  him.  To  indicate  publicly  any  anxiety  for 
an  office  always  lessened  one's  chances;  and  to  electioneer  for  one's 
self  insured  his  defeat.  The  principle  assumed  and  applied  was  that 
if  the  town  wanted  a  man's  services  the  town  would  elect  him  ;  and 
hence  upon  his  nomination  the  candidate  usually  went  home  and  kept 
silence.  If  he  did  not  want  the  otHce  he  had  but  to  hint  to  his  neigh- 
bors that  he  would  like  to  have  them  vote  for  him  ;  and  he  was  pretty 
sure  not  to  be  burdened  with  it. 

But  it  was  not  altogether  by  his  sermons  that  Dr.  Hyde  held  the 
town  together.  His  office  itself  gave  him  great  strength.  The  min- 
istry in  those  days  was  a  divine  institution,  and  not  a  mere  device  to 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  205 

help  men  while  away  an  otherwise  idle  hour  on  Sabbath  morning. 
And  Dr.  Hyde  magnified  his  office  out  of  the  pulpit  as  well  as  in. 
Directly  or  indirectly,  he  touched  all  town  life  and  work.  All  rev- 
erenced him,  all  confided  in  him,  all  looked  to  him  for  sympathy  in 
sorrow,  and  advice  in  trouble.  In  family  visitation  he  came  in  con- 
tact with  the  children,  and  then  "  catechised  "  them  in  the  district 
schools.     And  thus,  after  all,  his  pastoral  work  was  his  great  work. 

The  Sabbath,  in  Lee,  was  scrupulously  observed.  Even  those  who 
did  not  go  to  meeting,  spent  it  mainly  within  doors.  But  almost 
everybody  attended  public  worship.  The  modern  close-communion 
buggy,  with  its  little  too  much  room  for  one  and  not  quite  enough  for 
two,  had  not  then  begun  its  devil's  work  of  thinning  out  the  churches. 
In  all  the  outlying  districts  some  one  or  more  of  the  farmers  had  their 
large-boxed,  lumber  wagons  in  which  they  gathered  up  their  carriage- 
less  neighbors,  so  that,  "I  couldn't  go  afoot,"' was  no  excuse  when  Dr. 
Hyde — as  he  was  sure  to  do — came  during  the  week  to  find  out  the 
reason  for  non-attendance.  These  side  streams  of  wagons,  emptying 
their  drift  into  the  larger  channels,  and  these  again  into  the  main 
river,  dashed  a  flood  of  worshippers  around  the  old  meeting-house  at 
the  second  ringing  of  the  bell  on  Sunday  mornings.  The  services 
which  ensued  were  simple  and  sober.  The  psalm  or  hymn  was  from 
Watts'  version.  The  prayer  was  systematic,  earnest,  but  slow  and 
minute,  and  therefore  long,  measured  by  the  modern  standard.  Spe- 
cial requests  were  often  interpolated,  now  for  some  one  sick  and  nigh 
unto  death,  then  for  some  one  in  trial,  and  anon  for  some  adventurous 
family  about  to  undertake  the  perilous  journey  to  the  "  Holland  Pur- 
chase "  or  the  far  off  ;"  Western  Reserve."'  The  choir  was  large  and 
backed  by  Capt.  Lander's  huge  bass-viol,  filled  the  great  room  with 
sonorous  melody.  Then  was  Mr.  Hollister.  the  leader,  wrapt  into 
ecstacy  and  his  whole  person  rose  and  fell  with  the  cadences  of  the 
tune,  like  a  waif  on  the  billows  of  the  sea.  Sometimes  Major  Wilson 
came  down  from  Lenox,  and  then  the  old  fugue  tunes  roared  and  rat- 
tled, and  the  different  parts  chased  one  another  up  and  down  and 
played  tag  among  themselves  in  a  most  bewildering  way.  Such  in- 
spiriting song  !  No  wonder  the  small  boy  of  the  period  who  tenanted 
the  gallery,  got  excited  now  and  then,  and  needed  to  be  soothed  by  a 
touch  of  ''Uncle  Joe'"  Chadwick's  horn-tipped  rattan.  The  sermon 
was  methodical  aud  unadorned,  but  clear  and  pointed ;  and  always 
closed  with  some  definite  instruction  concerning  the  sinner's  way  to 
Christ. 

After  the  morning  service,  the  congregation  resolved  itself  into  a 
Sabbath-school.     For  many  years  Dea.  Nathan  Bassett  superintended 


206  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

it,  and  did  his  work  grandly.  Old  and  young,  male  and  female,  were 
formed  into  classes.  My  mother  was  in  one,  my  father  in  another  and 
myself  in  a  third.  Gray-headed  men  were  in  one  pew,  and  spectacled 
old  ladies  in  another  ;  and  all  were  engaged  in  a  common  work.  I 
have  never  seen  another  such  Sabbath-school  since.  The  half-hour 
between  the  school  and  the  afternoon  service,  was  devoted  to  "  dinner  ''" 
and  talk.  The  Orthodox  dinner  on  these  occasions  consisted  of 
"  cookies  "  well  spiced  with  caraway  seed  ;  these  being  about  the  only 
kind  of  victuals  that  could  be  trusted  in  the  pockets  of  the  Sunday 
coat.  At  this  time,  also,  in  Winter,  the  foot-stove  was  replenished,  its 
morning  fire  having  succumbed  to  the  length  of  the  sermon,  or  to  a 
want  of  draft.  Meantime  a  diligent  discussion  was  going  on ;  some- 
times of  the  sermon,  sometimes  of  the  Sunday-school  lesson,  and 
sometimes  of  some  secular  affair  of  general  interest. 

The  afternoon  sermon  was  usually  upon  some  "lighter"'  topic  than 
that  of  the  morning ;  and  if  the  morning  discourse  was  upon  a  doc- 
trinal subject  we  sometimes  had  the  practical  use  of  it  set  forth  in  the 
afternoon.  The  home-going  was  done  staidly  yet  cheerfully,  and  the 
dinner,  bountifully  provided  for  on  Saturday,  was  encountered  by  an 
appetite  decidedly  secular. 

I  had  something  in  mind  about  the  two  great  political  Sundays — 
Fast  and  Thanksgiving  days — which  our  governors  used  to  give  us  in 
the  Spring  and  Fall  ;  but  I  pass  them  by.  Great  changes,  I  pre- 
sume, have  come  over  the  town  since  the  times  of  which  I  have 
spoken.  Other  churches,  other  ministers,  other  men  and  other  forces 
have  met  and  mingled  there  where  the  Puritan  spirit,  and  Puritan 
ideas  once  reigned  supreme  and  reigned  alone.  The  interior  life  of 
Lee  has  doubtless  grown  broader  and  noisier,  but  I  question  if  it  has 
grown  deeper  and  purer.  If  my  view  of  it  shall  seem  too  rose-colored 
to  be  real,  I  have  only  to  say  thai  perhaps  the  haze  of  time  may  have 
dimmed  the  darker  hues  without  shading  at  all  the  brighter  ones. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 

The  poverty  of  the  people,  the  sparseness  of  the  popu- 
lation, the  drain  made  by  the  war  in  the  early  history  of 
the  town,  were  evident  obstacles  to  the  religious  progress 
of  the  community.  Various  traditionary  stories  perpetu- 
ate these  characteristics  of  the  primitive  days. 

"  Old  Mr.   Swift  visited  the  Bassetts  soon  after  their 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  207 

settlement  here,  and  as  he  looked  around  him,  exclaimed 
to  his  friends,  "  I  think  that  you  are  very  highly  favored 
in  this  town."  When  asked  "  Why  so?  "  he  replied,  "I 
have  noticed  that  ministers  and  other  good  men  always 
pray  for  the  desolate  parts  of  the  earth,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  but  that  you  share  in  their  prayers." 

When  David  Baker  left  the  Cape  in  1780,  he  was  a 
young  man,  and  so  desolate  was  this  region  then  con- 
sidered, that  his  pious  mother  remarked  as  he  left  her 
home,  "  David  is  going  to  Mount  Ephraim,  and  he  will 
never  hear  another  sermon." 

The  act  of  incorporation  did  not  require  of  the  inhabi- 
tants as  a  condition  of  enjoying  the  "  power,  privileges 
and  immunities  "  of  other  such  incorporated  towns,  that 
they  should  settle  a  "  Godly,  learned,  and  Orthodox  minis- 
ter within  three  years."  This  crowning  characteristic  of 
the  old  Massachusetts  town  system  was  long  delayed, 
though  it  was  an  almost  constant  item  in  the  warrants 
for  the  town  meetings,  the  business  of  the  church  being 
at  that  time  transacted  by  the  town.  This  intimate  con- 
nection of  church  and  town  continued  through  the  first 
half  century  of  the  town's  history,  and  as  most  of  the 
inhabitants  were  Congregationalists,  no  other  church 
being  established  at  the  Center  till  after  the  death  of 
Dr.  Hyde  in  1833,  no  apology  is  necessary  for  the  promi- 
nence given  to  the  Congregational  Church  in  the  early 
annals  of  the  town.  The  history  of  the  one  is  inseparably 
interwoven  with  that  of  the  other. 

The  first  sum  of  money  which  the  town  voted  to  raise 
was  "for  preaching  the  Gospel."  The  whole  business 
transacted  at  the  second  town  meeting  1778,  January  8, 
was  the  vote  "  to  raise  the  sum  of  £30  lawful  money,  to 
be  laid  out  in  preaching  the  Gospel.  Voted,  to  choose 
three  men  for  a  Committee,  to  employ  a  preacher,  and  to 
pay  him  the  above  money  that  is  voted — Jesse  Bradley, 


208  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Oliver  West,  and  Job  Harablin."  The  first  religions 
meeting  was  held  in  Deacon  Oliver  West's  barn,  which 
stood  where  a  barn  now  stands  upon  the  old  Wakefield 
place,  near  the  burying-gronnd.  The  hay-mow  consti- 
tuted the  orchestra.  That  old  barn  echoed  in  sweetest 
melody,  with  the  divine  songs  sung  by  that  choir  in 
which  the  children  of  Jonathan  Foote  were  the  principal 
performers.  In  view7  of  this  fact,  Nathan  Dillingham,  the 
then  poet  of  Lee,  perpetrated  the  following  : 

■•David  and  Ase  sing  bass  ; 
Jonathan  and  Fenner  sing  tenor  : 
'Vice  and  Sol  beat  them  all." 

1780,  April  7,  the  town  was  in  favor  of  securing  a 
"  Prispeartering  Minister,  and  voted  to  settle  Mr.  Fowler, 
offering  him  £50  yearly  for  a  "  sallery,"  and  £180  for 
a  "  settlement/'  not  to  be  paid  in  coin,  however,  but  in 
"  country  produce,"  prices  to  be  good  as  money  was  in 
1774.  June  15,  1780,  a  committee  was  chosen  to  hire 
preaching  for  three  months.  It  was  "  voted  to  raise 
£24:  silver  money,  or  the  equivalent  value  thereof  in 
Continental  money  to  be  assessed,  and  paid  in  before 
August  1,  next,  and  if  any  man  refuses  to  be  assessed,  he 
is  to  apply  to  the  assessors,  and  they  are  not  to  assess 
him."  It  must  be  remembered  that  this  was  during  the 
very  darkest  period  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  when  the 
people  seemed  almost  wearied  out  with  a  fruitless  strug- 
gle, and  no  hope  of  speedy  and  triumphant  issue  had  yet 
begun  to  dawn.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  "  liber- 
ality" of  the  religious  sentiment  that  was  ready  to  pass 
such  a  vote.  There  must  have  been  from  the  mv.it 
variety  of  origin  and  character  in  the  first  settlers,  a  great 
variety  of  religious  sentiment. 

A  Congregational  Church  was  organized  1780,  May  25, 
very    independently,    as    appears  from    the  record.     No 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  209 

council  seems  to  have  been  called.  "  The  Professors  of 
religion  in  the  town  of  Lee,  met  and  formed  themselves 
into  a  church,  the  Rev'd  Mr.  Daniel  Collins  of  Lanes- 
borough  being  present  at  their  request  to  assist  in  form- 
ing them."  They  numbered  38  members,  14  men,  and 
24  women.  After  being  organized,  they  appointed  a 
committee  to  invite  a  council  to  attend  the  ordination  of 
Mr.  Abraham  Fowler,  as  Pastor,  June  8.  The  churches 
invited  were  Sheffield,  Egremont,  Stockbridge,  Lenox, 
Pittsfield,  Lanesborough  and  Williamstown.  But  the 
church  was  doomed  to  a  great  disappointment,  from 
which  it  did  not  apparently  recover  for  a  long  time.  So 
many  in  the  town  enlisted  in  a  remonstrance  against  Mr. 
Fowler,  that  the  council  refused  to  ordain  him. 

1780,  December  27,  the  town  voted  to  raise  money  for 
preaching  to  be  paid  Mr.  Catlin.  1781,  May  18,  £40 
raised  to  pay  Mr.  Kirkland  for  preaching.  A  vote  passed 
in  April,  1780,  "to  exempt  all  the  Churchmen  and 
Baptists,  and  the  Quakers  from  settling  and  supporting  a 
Presbyterian  minister  in  town,"  was  renewed  at  this  time. 
It  indicated  the  heterogeneous  character  of  the  com- 
munity, and  the  difficulty  of  united  action  in  religious 
matters  in  the  town  meetings.  1782,  February  5,  a  com- 
mittee was  chosen  to  "  apply  to  Mr.  Elisha  Parmelee  to 
come  and  preach  to  us."  November  29,  voted  to  hire 
preaching  till  March  l,and  the  committee  were  instructed 
to  apply  to  Mr.  Catlin,  if  he  could  not  be  obtained  "  to 
use  their  Dischression."  1783,  May  12,  when  the  ques- 
tion was  put  in  regard  to  granting  the  request  of  a  peti- 
tion against  supporting  Mr.  Parmelee,  19  voted  in  favor 
of  doing  this,  39  against  it.  After  a  few  records  of  ad- 
mission and  baptism  we  read,  "  1783,  July  3,  Mr.  Elisha 
Parmele  was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  Gospel  ministry 
and  pastoral  charge  of  this  church."  A  paper  protest- 
ing against  this  action  and  signed  by  21  persons  was 
27 


210  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

presented  to  the  council,  but  Mr.  Parmele's  views  in  regard 
to  future  punishment  were  pronounced  scriptural  and 
right.  The  objections  made  by  believers  in  universal 
salvation  were  adjudged  to  be  groundless,  but  the  council 
thought  best  to  ordain  him.  July  5,  £60  voted  to  hire 
preaching. 

1784,  May  18,  the  church  voted  leave  of  absence  to 
Mr.  Parmele,  whose  health  had  failed.  He  proposed  to 
take  a  journey  to  Virginia,  It  was  mutually  agreed  that 
Pastor  and  church  might  enter  into  new  engagement  if 
opportunity  offered.  Mr.  Parmele  was  sound  in  the  faith, 
amiable  in  his  manners ;  highly  respected  for  his  piety 
and  talents.  But  from  the  failure  of  his  health,  his 
ministry  was  of  short  duration.  While  traveling  in  pur- 
suit of  health,  he  met  death  with  hardly  a  moment's 
warning,  when  in  Virginia  at  the  country-seat  of  Col. 
Abraham  Bird,  August  2,  1784,  when  nearly  100  miles 
short  of  the  place  he  intended  to  reach.  He  was  only  29 
years  old. 

For  eight  years  the  church  was  without  a  pastor ; 
many  candidates  employed ;  many  attempts  unsuccess- 
fully made  to  settle  some  one  as  pastor. 

1784,  November  23,  the  Committee  were  instructed 
"  to  agree  with  Mr.  Storer  to  preach  as  long  as  he  will 
agree  for."  1785,  March  28,  Mr.  Hatch  was  to  be  em- 
ployed still  longer,  six  Sabbaths  if  possible.  £60  voted 
to  procure  preaching.  1785,  August  14,  Mr.  Kirkland 
preached.  1785,  October  30,  Mr.  Lord  was  "  applied 
to,"  to  preach.  November  17,  those  present  at  the 
meeting  were  equally  divided  as  to  whether  he  should 
preach  longer.  1786,  March  13,  the  Committee  were 
instructed  to  apply  to  Mr.  Warren.  1786,  June  25,  Mr. 
Monson,  the  minister  of  Lenox,  preached.  July  14,  it 
was  proposed  to  send  to  Mr.  Haskell,  but  no  vote  was 
taken.     July  18,  Dr.  Beebe  was  invited.     July  31,  Mr. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  211 

Haskell  was  asked  to  preach  ''while  he  conveniently  can." 
September  21,  when  the  vote  was  taken,  there  was  a 
division  of  opinion,  56  being  in  favor  of  Dr.  Beebe,  23  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Haskell.  November  1,  Dr.  Beebe  was  asked 
to  preach  "  a  spell  longer."  November  20,  Mr.  Haskell 
was  invited  to  preach  4  Sabbaths.  1787,  September — 
the  Committee  was  instructed  to  send  for  Mr.  Mills. 
September  25,  they  were  instructed  to  secure  Mr.  Calvin 
White  "as  long  as  they  can."  November  30,  the  town 
voted  to  unite  with  the  church  in  giving  a  call  to  Mr. 
White.  1788,  February  11.  the  Committee  were  to  apply 
to  Mr.  Collins  "to  preach  with  a  view  to  settle."  April 
0,  Mr.  Avery  preached,  the  minister  of  Alford,  and  after- 
wards of  Tyringham.  May  7,  £50  voted  for  preaching. 
1788,  September  8,  the  committee  were  to  apply  to  Mr. 
Holt.  This  application  resulted  in  the  town's  voting  50 
affirmative,  1  negative  to  concur  in  calling  Mr.  Holt. 
The  terms  offered  were  £80  yearly  salary,  and  £200 
settlement. 

In  January,  1789,  the  town  voted  to  apply  to  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Miller.  March  1,  there  was  a  unanimous  call  voted 
to  Mr.  Miller  as  also  by  the  Church  March  16,  on  the 
same  terms  as  those  offered  to  Mr.  White.  1789,  May 
11,  either  Mr.  Pratt,  was  to  be  engaged  for  six  Sabbaths 
more,  or  Mr.  Crocker  of  New  Haven.  1790,  January  4, 
Mr.  Lee  of  Salisbury  was  to  be  asked  to  preach.  May  4, 
Mr.  Mead,  after  his  journey  to  Boston,  was  to  be  secured 
to  preach.  1790,  September  23,  the  town  appointed  a 
committee  to  treat  with  regard  to  making  some  altera- 
tions in  the  Church  covenant — a  most  unusual  instance  of 
a  town's  interference  with  what  is  now  considered  the 
special  province  of  every  church  or  society.  1790,  Sep- 
tember 27,  in  answer  to  a  communication  from  the  town, 
the  Church  voted  to  "give  Up  or  lay  by  their  covenant, 
and  take  the  Bible  alone  for  their  rule  of  government," 


212  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

but  voted  also,  that  "  grace  is  a  necessary  qualification  for 
communion."  The  Church  had  excommunicated  Deacon 
Bradley,  1788,  June  26,  for  denying  eternal  punishment, 
and  sent  a  committee,  1790,  July  29,  "to  converse  with 
Mr.  Penoyer  respecting  his  ideas  of  all  mankind's  being 

finally  happy."     1791,  March ,  Mr.  Abel  Jones  was 

called,  on  the  same  salary  as  had  been  offered  to  others. 
July  25,  Mr.  Stephen  Williams  was  engaged  for  four 
Sabbaths.  A  vote  to  give  him  "a  call"  was  passed,  76 
for  it,  5  opposing.  The  salary  offered  was  £60  the  first 
four  years,  then  £80.  A  settlement  of  £200  was  to  be 
paid  in  grain,  cattle,  or  bar-iron.  Or  he  might  have 
£100  a  year  with  no  settlement.  Or,  he  was  offered, 
£90  annual  salary,  with  the  improvement  of  a  parsonage 
containing  convenient  lands  and  buildings  within  a  suita- 
ble distance  from  the  meeting-house,  so  long  as  he  shall 
continue  to  be  our  minister.  It  may  be  noted  here  that 
Dr.  West  of  Stockbridge,  in  1775,  had  a  salary  of  £80, 
yet  such  was  the  pressure  of  poverty,  that  during  the 
war  he  was  one  year  not  paid  at  all. 

1791,  December  19,  it  was  voted,  82  affirmative,  3 
negative,  that  the  Committee  should  apply  to  Mr.  Hyde 
to  preach  longer.  He  had  been  introduced  to  the  peo- 
ple by  Rev.  Mr.  Williams  of  Dalton,  at  whose  house  he 
was  visiting.  1792,  February  23,  the  Church  met  and 
voted  unanimously  to  give  Mr.  Alvan  Hyde  a  call  to 
the  pastoral  charge.  1792,  March  5,  the  town  voted  to 
call  Mr.  Hyde,  "85  to  29  neuters  and  against,  including 
other  persuasions;"  1'200  settlement  was  offered,  £50 
yearly  for  four  years.  £60  salary  the  first  year  to  be 
increase!  £5  yearly  till  the  salary  should  reach  £80. 
May  8,  William  Ingersoll,  Esq.,  Dea.  Oliver  West,  John 
Nye,  Levi  Nye,  Nathan  Dillingham,  Capt.  Josiah  Yale, 
were  appointed  a  Committee  "  to  provide  articles  for  the 
ordination  of  Mr.  Hyde."     June  5,  the  council  met.     Dr. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  213 

West  of  Stockbridge  was  moderator,  Dr.  Backus  of  Som- 
ers  preached  the  sermon.  It  would  seem  that  the 
Church  was  not  suitable  or  not  large  enough.  The  rec- 
ord reads,  "June  6,  1702,  the  council  proceeded  to  a 
convenient  stage  erected  for  the  purpose,  and  solemnly 
consecrated  Mr.  Hyde  to  the  sacred  office." 

The  Committee  above  named,  were  requested  to  con- 
sult Mr.  Hyde  on  the  subject  of  purchasing  land  for  him. 
With  the  advice  of  this  Committee,  the  young  pastor 
bought  of  Mr.  Abraham  Howk  54  acres,  and  commenced 
building  the  house  which  he  occupied  during  his  long 
pastorate  of  forty-one  years.  His  salary  of  £60  ($200) 
would  not  seem  to  justify  the  enterprise,  but  he  had  se- 
cured the  affections  of  the  people,  and  they  encouraged  his 
building,  and  contributed  liberally  in  lumber  and  other 
material.  Capt.  Nathan  Ball  said  to  him,  "  We  will  all 
help  you,  and  I  will  bring  you  a  little  honey  every  year," 
a  promise  which  he  never  failed  to  keep.  Money  was  a 
scarce  article  in  those  days,  and  a  little  went  a  long  way. 
The  house  was  not  completed  for  several  years,  and  when 
he  moved  into  it  with  his  bride  in  1793,  his  bed-room 
was  well  ventilated,  as  it  was  open  up  to  the  rafters. 

It  is  painful  to  any  one  who  has  familiarized  himself 
with  the  early  history  of  our  New  England  towns,  to  see 
how  much  of  the  time  of  ministers  and  people  was  spent 
in  unpleasant  controversies.  While  the  Congregational 
polity  fostered  independence  of  thought  and  feeling,  its 
freedom  from  ecclesiastical  rubrics  opened  wide  opportu- 
nities for  unreasonable  and  fractious  spirits  to  hinder 
what  they  did  not  wish  to  help.  When,  as  was  the  case 
in  Lee,  there  was  no  community  of  sentiments  and  of  in- 
terest, the  wonder  is,  not  that  any  unity  of  action  was  so 
long  delayed,  but  that  any  united  action  was  at  any  time 
possible.  The  young  preacher  had  no  nattering  pros- 
pects before  him,  when  he  began  his  work  as  pastor  of  a 


214  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

feeble  church  and  a  heterogeneous  community.  But 
with  God's  blessing,  discouragements  and  difficulties  were 
overcome.  Patient  continuance  in  well-doing  brought 
about  at  last  a  different  condition  of  affairs.  The  church 
and  the  community  felt  the  gentle,  steady  pressure  of  the 
moulding  hand.  "  We  have  been  very  Shaysy  here," 
said  Mr.  Cornelius  Basset  to  the  young  pastor,  "and 
you'll  have  to  be  wise  as  a  serpent  to  keep  the  peace 
among  us."  Peace,  however,  was  maintained  between 
pastor  and  people,  and  the  dissensions  among  the  latter 
gradually  decreased.  Mr.  Hyde  preached  the  truth  in 
love,  and  a  powerful  revival  of  religion  soon  after  his  or- 
dination, greatly  strengthened  the  church,  and  tended  to 
harmony  in  society  generally.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  a  series  of  revivals,  which  continued  all  through  Dr. 
Hyde's  ministry,  and  made  his  church  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  one  of  the  largest  in  Western  Massachusetts.  The 
little  "  meeting-house  "  soon  became  too  strait  for  the  in- 
increasing  congregation,  and  in  1800,  the  large  and,  for 
the  times,  beautiful  church  edifice,  which  lasted  till  1857, 
was  erected.  A  more  particular  account  of  the  church 
edifices  is  given  elsewhere. 

Dr.  Hyde's  father  was  Joseph  Hyde,  a  farmer  in  Frank- 
lin. Conn.,  originally  called  Norwich  Farms.  He  was 
born  in  that  town  February  2,  1768.  His  mother  died 
when  he  was  six  years  old.  When  he  was  14  years 
old  he  began  to  prepare  for  College.  His  pastor,  Rev. 
Dr.  Nott,  was  his  teacher.  He  entered  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege in  1784,  and  graduated  in  1788.  In  1786  he  united 
with  the  College  Church.  He  taught  school  one  year  in 
Northampton,  and  then  commenced  the  study  of  theology 
under  Rev.  Dr  Backus  at  Somers,  Conn.  He  was  li- 
censed to  preach  by  the  Tolland  County  Consociation, 
June.  1790.  Part  of  the  two  following  years  he  studied 
theology  under   Rev,  Dr.  West,  of  Stockbridge.     He  was 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  215 

ordained  pastor  of  the  church  in  Lee,  June  6,  1792.  He 
was  married  April  25,  1793,  to  Miss  Lucy  Fessenden,  of 
Sandwich.  She  was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Nathan  Dillingham, 
of  Lee.  When  some  rumors  of  the  approaching  marriage 
began  to  be  whispered,  one  of  the  sisterhood  in  the 
church  undertook  to  inquire  of  Dr.  Hyde  whether  the 
report  was  true.  "  I  know  it's  none  of  my  business," 
she  began,  "  but  I  should  like  to  know."  "  If  it  is  not 
your  business,"  was  his  reply,  "  why  do  you  make  it 
your  business?  " 

The  first  year  of  his  pastorate  here  was  a  general 
revival  of  religion,  and  110  were  added  to  the  church. 
This  brought  into  the  membership  most  of  the  leading 
men  in  the  town,  and  throughout  the  forty  years  of  his 
ministry,  the  weight  of  social  influence  was  on  the  side  of 
the  church.  There  were  21  male  members  at  the  time 
of  his  settlement.  From  being  small  and  feeble  and 
divided,  the  church  grew  to  be  one  of  the  largest  and 
and  strongest  in  this  part  of  the  State.  He  died,  as  he 
had  desired  to  do,  in  the  midst  of  his  usefulness.  After 
he  had  preached  a  Thanksgiving  Sermon,  November, 
1833,  an  attack  of  pneumonia  prostrated  him,  and  he 
never  entered  the  pulpit  again.  His  illness  made  rapid 
progress,  and  December  4,  1833,  "he  fell  asleep,"  aged 
sixty-five  years,  ten  months,  and  two  days. 

Years  before  he  died,  Dr.  Hyde  was  commonly  spoken 
of  as  "venerable."  He  was  naturally  sedate;  in  tem- 
perament, a  marked  contrast  to  his  life  long-friend  and 
neighbor,  Rev.  Dr.  Shepard,  of  Lenox.  His  whole  de- 
meanor conveyed  the  impression  of  eminent  spirituality 
and  sanctity.  He  was  a  prudent  man  in  his  measures, 
and  of  well  balanced  judgment.  As  a  preacher,  he  was 
not  oratorical,  but  simple  and  solemn.  When  the  truth 
he  uttered  was  evidently  taking  effect,  he  would  say,  "1 
pause  " — and    many    a  sinner  has  had  solemn  thoughts 


21  <'»  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

during  these  pauses.  While  not  demonstrative,  he  was 
searching.  In  the  times  of  special  religious  interest, 
which  were  frequent  under  his  ministry,  his  pungent  di- 
rectness brought  the  truth  very  close  to  his  hearer's  con- 
science. He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity 
from  Dartmouth  College  in  1812.  He  was  invited  often 
to  attend  ecclesiastical  councils,  where,  as  in  the  ordi- 
nary association  meetings,  his  opinion  was  valued  as  the 
expression  of  a  discriminating  and  deliberate  judgment. 

He  was  several  times  urged  to  stand  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidency  of  Williams  College,  and  to  take  a  pro- 
fessorship of  theology.  But  his  sympathies  and  his  judg- 
ment bound  him  to  the  people  and  the  pastorate  in  Lee. 
Between  thirty  and  forty  young  men  pursued  their  studies 
for  the  ministry  under  his  care.  Both  young  and  old 
were  strongly  attached  to  him,  regarding  him  with  loving- 
reverence  as  one  worthy  of  all  respect  and  confidence. 
He  was  of  medium  height,  and  of  substantial  build,  in  his 
countenance  and  demeanor  conveying  an  immediate  im- 
pression of  solemnity  and  benignity,  which  became  the 
abiding  impression  of  all  who  knew  how  affectionate  and 
sympathizing  was  his  heart,  what  propriety  and  consist- 
ency there  was  in  his  conduct  in  all  his  domestic  and 
social  relations. 

1 834,  May  2,  the  church  voted  to  call  Rev.  J.  N.  Dan- 
forth.  The  council  for  his  installation  met  June  17. 
Rev.  Dr.  Shepard,  of  Lenox,  was  chosen  Moderator,  and 
he  also  preached  the  sermon.  Rev.  James  Bradford,  of 
Sheffield,  was  the  Scribe.  The  council  met  on  Tuesday, 
organized,  and  then  examined  the  pastor  elect.  Wednes- 
day morning  they  met  for  a  season  of  prayer,  and  in  the 
afternoon  the  installation  services  were  duly  performed. 
This  custom  of  taking  two  days  for  the  installation  of  a 
pastor,  was  kept  up  in  this  part  of  the  state,  and  was  the 
arrangement    when    Dr.   Gale,    in    1853,    was    installed. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  217 

When  Mr.  Danforth  was  installed,  the  charge  to  the  Pas- 
tor was  given  by  Dr.  Field,  of  Stockbridge  ;  the  Eight 
Hand  of  Fellowship,  by  Rev.  Edwin  W.  Dwight,  of  Rich- 
mond ;  the  Address  to  the  People,  by  Rev.  James  Brad- 
ford, of  Sheffield.  Soon  after  Mr.  Danforth's  installation, 
and  agreeably  to  a  vote  of  the  church,  an  eight  days'  pro- 
tracted meeting  was  held,  October  16-24.  That  was  a 
new  measure  in  those  days,  as  novel  an  arrangement  as 
the  Tabernacle  meetings  of  Messrs.  Moody  and  Sankey 
in  Boston.  The  strong  Calvinistic  expressions  of  the  old 
creed  of  the  church,  seemed  to  some  to  require  modifica- 
tion and  the  11th  article  in  which  the  grace  of  God, 
which  was  described  originally  "  as  a  free,  unpromised, 
sovereign  gift,"  was,  to  meet  their  wishes,  amended  by 
the  omission  of  the  epithet  "  unpromised."  After  a  pas- 
torate of  four  years,  Mr.  Danforth  resigned,  1838,  March 
7,  and  was  dismissed  with  cordial  testimonials  to  his  fidel- 
ity and  success,  by  a  council  which  met  1838,  March28. 

Joshua  Noble  Danforth  was  the  son  of  Hon.  Joshua 
Danforth,  of  Pittsfielcl,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  Revolu- 
tion ;  his  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Hon.  David  Noble,  of 
Williamstown.  Born  in  Pittsfield,  1792,  young  Danforth 
fitted  for  college  at  Lenox  Academy,  and  graduated  at 
Williams  in  1818.  After  completing  the  course  of  theo- 
logical study  at  Princeton,  his  first  settlement  in  the 
ministry  was  at  Newcastle,  Delaware,  and  his  next  at 
Washington,  D.  C.  He  had  left  this  and  was  acting  as 
Agent  of  the  Colonization  Society,  when  he  received  the 
call  to  succeed  Dr.  Hyde.  After  leaving  Lee,  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  at  Alexandria, 
Va.  He  resigned  this,  and  became  a  second  time  an 
agent  for  the  Colonization  Society,  continuing  in  this  till 
just  before  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Newcastle,  Del., 
November  14,  1861.  He  received  the  degree  of  D.  D., 
in  1855  from  Newark  College,  Del. 
28 


218  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

During  the  year  1839,  the  church  voted,  though  un- 
successfully, to  call  Rev.  Robert  McEwen,  and  then  with 
like  ill  success,  Rev.  IL  N.  Brinsmade,  of  Pittsfield,  Rev. 
Laurens  P.  Hickok,  of  Hudson,  Ohio,  Rev.  Leonard  E. 
Lathrop,  of  Auburn,  N.  Y.  They  voted,  1840.  January 
24,  to  call  Rev.  W.  B.  Bond,  and  the  call  being  accepted, 
the  council  for  his  installation  met  March  18.  Rev.  Dr. 
Shepard,  was  Moderator  :  Rev.  T.  S.  Clarke,  of  Stock- 
bridge,  Scribe  ;  the  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Osgood,  of  Springfield  ;  the  charge  was  given  by  the 
Moderator:  and  the  Right  Hand,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Brinsmade. 
After  a  6  years'  pastorate  Rev.  Mr.  Bond  resigned  1846, 
March  18,  and  was  dismissed  April  8.  Mr.  Bond  is  still 
living,  and  is  pastor  of  the  church  in  New  Braintree, 
Mass.  He  has  many  warm  friends  in  Lee,  and  was  pres- 
ent at  the  Centennial  Celebration. 

1846,  October  23,  the  Church  voted  to  call  Rev.  Ralph 
Smith  of  Curtisville,  and  the  council  for  his  installation 
met  December  8.  Rev.  T.  S.  Clarke  of  Stockbridge,  was 
Moderator,  and  preached  the  sermon  ;  Rev.  E.  B.  Andrews 
of  Housatonic,  the  Scribe,  gave  the  Right  Hand  ;  Rev.  J. 
W.  Turner  of  Great  Barrington,  gave  the  Charge  ;  and 
Rev.  Henry  Neill  of  Lenox,  the  Address.  Rev.  Mr.  Smith 
resigned  1850,  November  8,  and  was  dismissed  December 
4.  and  died  at  Saugerties,  N.  Y.,  November  2,  1867,  aged 
57. 

Ralph  Smith  was  born  on  Long  Island,  November  24, 
1810;  graduated  at  Williams  College,  1830,  and  then 
studied  medicine  at  New  Haven;  was  ordained  pastor  of 
the  church  at  Curtisville,  June  26,  1844.  After  leaving 
Lee,  he  preached  at  Milton,  Conn.  From  September, 
1851,  till  May,  1855,  he  was  pastor  at  Cornwall,  Conn.; 
then  stated  supply  at  Trumbull,  Conn.  ;  pastor  at  Wol- 
cottville,  from  April.  1856,  to  September,  1857;  at  New 
Canaan,  from  May,  I860,  to  April,  1864.     Mr.  Smith  was 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  219 

a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability.  He  was  an  orig- 
inal thinker  and  a  close  observer  of  men  and  things,  but 
not  a  systematic  student.  Some  of  his  sermons  showed 
genius  of  a  high  order,  but  he  often  neglected  prepara- 
tion for  the  Sabbath  till  Saturday  evening,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence his  pulpit  performarices  were  not  always  up  to 
his  own  standard.  As  a  pastor,  also,  he  failed  in  some 
essential  particulars,  but  his  most  intimate  friends  cherish 
his  memory  with  great  respect. 

1851,  February  14,  the  Church  invited  Rev.  Sereno  D. 
Clarke  to  become  their  pastor,  and  he  was  installed  by  a 
council  that  met  June  10,  1851.  Rev.  Heman  Humph- 
rey, D.  D.,  was  Moderator,  and  preached  the  sermon ; 
Rev.  W.  H.  Phelps  of  Curtisville,  Scribe;  Rev.  Samuel 
Harris  gave  the  Right  Hand  ;  Rev.  Dr.  Todd,  the  Charge  ; 
Rev.  Henry  Neill,  the  Address.  At  the  first  anniversary 
of  his  installation,  June  11,  1852,  the  pastor  tendered  his 
resignation,  and  was  dismissed  by  council,  June  22.  Mr. 
Clarke  was  a  scholar,  a  good  preacher,  and  faithful  pas- 
tor, but  for  some  reason  never  seemed  to  feel  at  home  in 
Lee,  and  though  during  his  pastorate  there  was  unusual 
religious  interest,  he  did  not  incline  to  stay  long  enough 
to  harvest  the  fruit  of  his  labors.  He  is  still  living,  de- 
voting much  of  his  time  to  literary  pursuits.  He  writes 
a  strong  magazine  article,  and  has  published  several  works 
that  reflect  credit  upon  their  author. 

1853,  July  4,  a  unanimous  call  was  extended  to  Rev. 
Nahum  Gale,  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  in  the 
Theological  Institute  at  East  Windsor,  Conn.  The  coun- 
cil for  his  installation  met,  1853,  August  31.  Rev.  Dr. 
Field  was  Moderator,  and  gave  the  Charge ;  Rev.  W.  H. 
Phelps,  Scribe ;  Rev.  Dr.  Tyler  preached  the  Sermon ; 
Rev.  Mr.  Harris  of  the  South  Church,  Pittsfield,  gave  the 
Right  Hand ;  and  Rev.  Dr.  Todd  the  Address  to  the  Peo- 
ple.    Dr.  Gale's  pastorate  continued  till  his  death,  which 


220  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

occurred  September,  18,  1876.  The  outline  facts  of  Dr. 
Gale's  life  are  as  follows :  Born  at  Auburn,  Mass.,  March 
0,1812;  removed  to  Worcester  in  early  life,  where  he 
was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  carpenters'  trade ;  becoming- 
interested  in  religion,  he  determined  to  get  an  education 
and  be  an  ambassador  for  Christ;  fitted  for  college  at 
Phillips  Academy,  Andover ;  graduated  at  Amherst  Col- 
lege in  1837  ;  taught  the  Amherst  Academy  two  years ; 
graduated  from  East  Windsor  Seminary  in  1841 ;  was  or- 
dained at  Ware,  Mass.,  June  22,  1842 ;  married  Mar- 
tha Tyler,  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Bennett  Tyler,  August 
10,  1843  ;  became  professor  in  East  Windsor  Theological 
Seminary  in  1851,  and  was  installed  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Lee,  September  1,  1853. 

Dr.  Gale  was  no  ordinary  man.  His  intellect  was  nat- 
urally vigorous,  and  he  strengthened  it  by  diligent  study 
and  by  intercourse  with  intelligent  society.  He  had  the 
rare  executive  faculty  of  making  the  most  of  himself  and 
of  all  by  whom  he  was  surrounded.  His  long  pastorate 
of  twenty-three  years  in  Lee,  left  an  impression  on  the 
church  and  society,  second  only  to  that  of  Dr.  Hyde. 
His  forte,  as  he  said  himself,  was  in  the  pulpit,  and  not 
in  parochial  visits.  When  stimulated  by  congenial  soci- 
ety, his  conversational  powers  were  of  a  high  order.  He 
had  a  wonderful  store  of  facts  and  anecdotes  in  his  memory, 
and  could  recall  those  pertinent  to  the  occasion  and  the 
topic  under  discussion.  This  rendered  his  conversation 
brilliant  and  humorous.  This  humor,  however,  never 
cropped  out  in  the  pulpit.  There  he  was  always  grave. 
His  preaching  was  logical  rather  than  emotional.  To  the 
cause  of  missions  he  was  ardently  devoted  ;  was  a  cor- 
porate member  of  the  American  Board  of  Commission- 
ers for  Foreign  Missions,  and  seldom,  if  ever  failed 
to  be  present  at  the  annual  meetings.  Education  also 
received  from   him  its  due  share  of  attention.     At  the 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  221 

time  of  his  death,  he  was  a  Trustee  of  Williams  Col- 
lege, and  had  been  for  fifteen  years.  He  died  in  the 
midst  of  his  usefulness,  sincerely  mourned  by  his  church 
and  congregation,  who  erected  a  fitting  monument  to  his 
memory. 

February  13,  1877,  the  church  and  parish  united  very 
harmoniously  in  extending  a  call  to  Rev.  Lyman  S.  Row- 
land of  Saratoga,  N.  Y.,  to  become  their  pastor.  The 
call  was  accepted,  and  he  was  installed  April  5.  Presi- 
dent Seelye  of  Amherst  College,  preaching  the  installa- 
tion sermon.  Dr.  Gale  was  so  able  a  preacher,  and  held 
so  prominent  a  place  in  church  and  society,  that  it  was 
feared  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  successor  to  fill  the 
position,  but  Mr.  Rowland  received  an  unanimous  call, 
and  has  steadily  gained  in  the  affection  and  respect  of  his 
people  since  his  installation. 

BENEVOLENT    OPERATIONS. 

1797,  April  4,  the  church  voted  that  it  would  be  expe- 
dient to  do  everything  in  their  power  to  encourage  and 
forward  the  design  of  the  New  York  Missionary  Society, 
and  that  a  contribution  should  be  proposed  the  next  Sab- 
bath. The  sum  collected,  April  16,  was  $32.50,  a  liberal 
contribution  for  those  times,  which  was  forwarded  to  the 
New  York  Missionary  Society.  Contributions  continued 
to  be  made  occasionally  to  the  Foreign  Mission  Cause, 
gradually  increasing  in  amount,  till  the  organization  of 
the  American  Board  in  1810,  when  more  systematic  ef- 
forts took  the  place  of  spasmodic  contributions. 

The  Berkshire  and  Columbia  Missionary  Society  was 
formed  1798,  February  21,  and  up  to  1829,  its  collections 
amounted  to  $13,776.03.  Of  this  sum,  Lee  contributed 
$708.73.  The  Church,  after  this  time,  sents  its  contri- 
butions directly  to  the  American  Home  Missionary  Soci- 
ety.    Of  this  latter  organization,  Lee  has  ever  been  a 


222  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

faithful  auxiliary,  the  annual  contributions*  for  Home 
Missions  through  this  channel,  now  amounting  to  over 
six  hundred  dollars. 

The  Berkshire  Bible  Society  Avas  organized,  1817,  June 
17,  one  year  after  the  institution  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,  and  Lee  has  ever  been  one  of  the  foremost  of  its 
auxiliaries,  though  the  contributions  of  late  years  have 
not  increased  in  the  same  ratio  with  those  to  Foreign 
and  Home  Missions,  indeed,  they  have  decreased.  The 
annual  donations  for  the  past  few  years  have  amounted 
to  about  $100. 

1825,  June  15,  the  Berkshire  Missionary  Society  was 
formed,  auxiliary  to  the  American  Board  of  Commission- 
ers for  Foreign  Missions,  with  auxiliaries  in  the  sev- 
eral towns  of  the  county.  Lee  took  an  active  interest 
in  the  cause  of  missions  at  an  early  day,  the  young 
men  forming  an  association  to  work  for  its  support. 
The  plan  was  to  take  a  piece  of  land  and  raise  corn 
upon  it,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  missions.  After  the  establishment  of  the  Lee 
Auxiliary  Missionary  Society,  the  mode  of  raising  funds 
by  personal  solicitation  was  adopted,  and  solicitors,  both 
male  and  female,  were  appointed  in  each  school  district. 
The  result  was  a  large  increase  in  the  amount  of  contri- 
butions, and  the  flow  of  benevolence  in  this  direction  was 
still  further  augmented  when  Dr.  Gale  became  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  Church.  The  amount  now  annually 
contributed  to  Foreign  Missions  by  the  united  effort  of 
the  gentlemen  and  ladies'  associations,  does  not  vary 
much  from  $1,000.  Smaller  sums  are  also  annually  con- 
tributed to  the  American  Missionary  Association,  the 
American  Tract  and  Education  Societies,  the  Congrega- 
tional Union  and  the  Congregational  Publishing  organiz- 
ations. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  223 

COLONIZING    A    NEW    CHURCH. 

1811,  June  2,  the  Church,  in  giving  letters  te  Jedediah 
Crocker  and  wife,  Mrs.  Moses  Hall,  and  Mrs.  Abijah  Crosby, 
about  to  remove  to  Ohio,  expressed  their  opinion  that  it 
was  expedient  for  them  to  settle  near  those  going  from 
Lenox,  and  form  themselves  into  a  church.  Such  a 
church  was  actually  constituted  in  this  town — a  part  of 
the  members  connected  with  the  Congregational  Church 
of  Dover,  Ashtabula  Co.,  Ohio,  having  been  till  then 
members  of  the  Church  in  Lee. 

THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

The  Lee  Congregational  Sunday-School  wras  organized 
about  the  time  when  the  interest  of  the  Massachusetts 
churches  was  first  aroused  in  the  question  of  providing 
public  religious  instruction  on  the  Sabbath  for  the  young. 
Tn  Dr.  Hyde's  hand-writing  in  the  Church  records,  we 
read: — "June  10,  1819,  at  a  Church  meeting,  the  pastor 
introduced  the  subject  of  Sabbath-Schools,  and  after  free 
conversation  it  was  voted  to  establish  one  in  this  town. 
The  following  brethren  were  chosen  a  Committee  to 
make  arrangements  for  that  purpose,  viz. :  Josiah  Yale, 
Deacon  David  Ingersoll,  Oliver  Kellogg,  Asahel  Foote, 
Ephraim  Sheldon,  Jarecl  Ingersoll,  and  Josiah  Spencer." 
The  School  was  organized  soon  after,  at  the  Center 
School-house  ;  and  when  the  classes  were  formed,  marched 
in  procession  to  the  Church.  Deacon  Josiah  Spencer, 
who  removed  to  the  West  in  1832,  was  the  first  Superin- 
tendent. The  recitations  of  the  scholars  were  their  own 
selections  from  the  Bible,  and  from  Dwight's  hymn  book. 
The  second  Summer,  Hannah  Crosby  (now  Mrs.  Henry 
Smith)  recited  6,000  verses,  and  received  a  prize.  The 
number  of  scholars  was  60  to  70,  mostly  between  the  age 
of  eight  and  fifteen.  Deacon  Spencer  soon  established 
a  branch    school   at   South    Lee.      For    several    vears   a 


224  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Committee  was  annually  appointed  to  revive  the  Sabbath- 
School,  which  was  suspended  during  the  Winter  season- 
In  1826,  June  9,  "  the  Church  voted  to  become  the  Sab- 
bath-School Society  of  Lee,  and  to  be  an  auxiliary  to  the 
Massachusetts  Sabbath-School  Union."  1829,  April  17, 
when  the  School  numbered  230,  and  70  more  were  in 
Bible  classes,  Deacon  Nathan  Bassett  was  chosen  by  the 
Church,  Sunday-School  Superintendent ;  William  Porter, 
Esq.,  Secretary  and  Treasurer;  Abner  Taylor,  Librarian. 
The  Church  had  voted,  1824.  September  9,  that  some  part 
of  the  semi-annual  collection  for  the  American  Education 
Society  be  appropriated  to  the  purchase  of  books  and 
tracts  for  the  children  belonging  to  the  Sabbath-School. 

Committees  some  years  appointed  to  bring  in  scholars 
would  largely  increase  the  numbers  in  spite  of  interrup- 
tions occasioned  by  the  death  or  removal  of  pastors. 
When  Deacon  Caleb  Belden  was  chosen  Superintendent, 
special  efforts  were  made  to  furnish  clothing  to  any  poor 
children.  In  1853,  when  Dr.  Gale  became  pastor,  the 
library  was  small,  the  different  classes  had  different  lessons, 
the  children  were  fewer  than  now,  the  singing  was  chiefly 
by  adults,  and  the  Sunday-school  concerts  were  seldom 
attended  by  the  children.  In  1801  and  1862,  class-books 
were  kept,  and  the  number  of  verses  learned,  marked. 
New  books  were  added  to  the  library  of  a  higher  grade, 
and  a  new  system  of  library  registration  adopted.  Christ- 
inns  was  observed  with  festivities  appropriate  for  children. 
In  the  Spring  of  1867,  many  of  the  scholars  felt  the 
breathings  of  a  better  life.  Seventy-five  from  the  school 
during  the  period  of  five  years  preceding  and  including 
this,  connected  themselves  with  the  church.  Benevolent 
contributions  increased  year  by  year.  Previous  to  1857, 
the  amount  annually  collected,  averaging  $50.00.  With 
increasing  experience  the  management  of  the  Sunday- 
school  improved,  and  this  was  seen  not  only  in  the  mode 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  225 

of  instruction,  but  also  in  better  question-books,  and  an 
enlarged  library.  The  Semi-Centennial  of  the  school  was 
celebrated  with  appropriate  exercises,  1869,  December  23. 
Dr.  Gale's  address  and  the  other  proceedings,  so  far  as 
they  could  be  made  a  matter  of  record,  were  published  by 
vote  of  the  church.  The  school  has  for  some  years  past 
supported  a  teacher  among  the  freedmen,  making  its  do- 
nation through  the  American  Missionary  Association,  by 
whom  the  teacher  is  appointed.  At  no  period  of  its 
history  was  the  Sunday-school  doing  better  work  than 
under  its  present  management. 

SINGING    IN    CHURCH. 

In  addition  to  what  Dr.  Gale  has  said  of  the  arrange- 
ments for  singing  in  the  old  meeting-house,  special  credit 
should  be  given  to  the  people  of  those  early  days  of 
poverty  and  struggle,  who  yet  were  determined  not  only 
to  build  a  meeting-house  second  to  none  in  the  county 
for  elegance  and  convenience,  but  also  to  secure  as  good 
instruction  as  the  times  could  afford  for  the  better  per- 
formance of  the  service  of  praise.  1802,  November  1, 
$40.00  were  voted  to  support  singing  under  the  direction 
of  the  Selectmen.  Their  varied  duties  and  responsibili- 
ties made  their  office  no  sinecure  To  be  "  Musical 
Director "  in  these  days  is  supposed  to  require  some 
knowledge  of  the  art :  but  perhaps  this  putting  responsi- 
bility upon  officials  brought  out  latent  talent  as  giving 
everybody  the  right  of  suffrage,  is  supposed  to  develop 
good  qualities  as  citizens. 

1783,  July  18,  the  church  "chose  Mr.  David  inger- 
soll,  choriester."  The  town  afterwards  made  special 
appropriation  for  singing,  as  for  instance,  in  1812,  May  4, 
voting  for  this  purpose  $60.00.  Alvan  and  William 
Ingersoll,  sons  of  Deacon  David  Ingersoll,  were  promi- 
nent singers  and  leaders.  Among  others  remembered  as 
29 


226  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

prominent  in  the  service  of  song  in  the  earlier  days,  are 
Abncr  Taylor,  Sylvanus  Foote,  Ebenezer  Bradley,  Gurdon 
J.  Hollister,  and  Capt.  James  Landers. 

The  only  instrumental  accompaniment  for  many  years, 
— and  even  that  was  regarded  by  many  as  an  abomination 
when  first  introduced, — was  the  bass  viol,  which  for  more 
than  a  score  of  years  was  played  by  Capt.  Landers.  He 
guarded  it  as  carefully  as  he  would  a  favorite  child, 
bringing  it  with  him  every  Sabbath  from  his  home,  and 
arousing  approving  admiration  by  his  masterly  handling 
of  the  well-rosined  bow.  Capt.  Hollister  occasionally 
played  the  flute,  but  the  bass-viol  was  for  a  long  period 
regarded  as  the  all-sufficient  accompaniment  to  the  voices 
of  the  singers  as  they  led  in  the  choral  harmonies  of  Old 
Hundred  and  Duke  Street,  or  in  the  different  parts  chased 
each  other  in  the  favorite  fugue  tunes  of  'Northfield  or 
Lenox.  In  1852,  an  organ  was  placed  in  the  church  at 
an  expense  of  $1,300,  which  amount  was  raised  by  sub- 
scription, many  members  of  the  church  and  parish  object- 
ing to  praising  God  with  wind  instruments.  This  organ 
was  burned  with  the  church  in  1857,  but  was  replaced  by 
a  larger  and  better  one  the  following  year. 

CHURCH    EDIFICES. 

"  The  first  religious  meeting,  as  has  been  said,  was  held 
in  Deacon  Oliver  West's  barn.  The  meeting  was  after- 
wards held  in  Peter  Wilcox'  barn,  which  stood  in  the 
rear  of  what  is  now  Dr.  Wright's  house  on  Main  street. 
The  meetings  were  held  in  Mr.  Wilcox'  barn,  and  in  the 
unfinished  chamber  of  Lyman  Foote's  house,  until  1780, 
when  they  were  held  in  the  meeting-house,  then  first 
built.  The  town  voted,  1778,  November  10,  "to  build  a 
meeting-house,  48  by  36,  and  that  £700  be  raised  to 
defray  the  expense."  This  vote  was  not  carried  into 
effect,  for   the  next  year,  December  7,  1779,  the  town 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  227 

passed  the  following  votes :  "  To  build  a  meeting-house  in 
and  for  the  use  of  the  town,  of  50  feet  long,  and  36  feet 
feet  wide.  That  Hope  Davis,  Job  Hamblin,  Oliver  West, 
Peter  Wilcox,  Levi  Nye,  Samuel  Porter,  Prince  West, 
Daniel  Church,  and  Noah  Crocker,  be  a  committee  to 
build  a  meeting-house,  where  the  town  shall  agree  to  set 
it,  and  sell  the  pew  spots  at  a  public  vendue,  except  the 
town  will  agree  to  pay  them  some  other  way."  "  Voted,  to 
set  the  meeting-house  where  the  last  committee  set  the 
stake." 

The  building  committee  were  required  to  give  bonds  to 
the  town,  probably  that  they  would  build  according  to 
the  votes  The  various  contradictory  motions  passed 
1781,  August  28,  will  show  the  tribulations  and  perplexi- 
ties of  a  building  committee,  aggravated  by  a  more  than 
ordinary  amount  of  human  perversity  in  the  people  of 
the  town. 

"  A  motion  made  to  see  if  the  town  will  take  the 
meeting-house  of  the  committee,  and  pay  their  cost ; 
passed  in  the  negative." 

"  Motion  made,  to  see  if  the  town  will  sell  the  seat 
ground,  to  pay  the  cost  of  finishing  the  meeting-house, 
passed  in  the  negative." 

"  Motion  to  see  if  the  town  will  raise  any  sum  of  money 
to  lay  out  on  the  meeting-house,  passed  in  the  negative." 

The  town  voted,  1784,  January  13,  to  chose  a  "com- 
mittee to  take  into  consideration  the  affairs  of  the  build- 
ing the  meeting-house,  and  see  whether  the  former 
committee  have  fulfilled  their  agreement.  This  investi- 
gating committee  either  did  not  find  affairs  to  their  mind, 
or  the  town  had  no  mind  to  discharge  them  from  their 
unfinished  trust,  for  in  March,  there  was  "  no  vote  to  give 
up  the  bond  to  the  committee,  who  built  the  meeting- 
house." 

The  next  year,  May,  1785,  the  town   "  voted  to  choose 


228  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

a  committee  of  three  men,  to  settle  with  the  committee 
that  built  the  meeting-house."  After  appointing  this 
settling  committee,  questions  came  up  respecting  "  the 
bond,"  "  alterations  in  the  inside,"  and  selling  the  pew 
next  to  the  pulpit  stairs.  "  At  an  adjourned  meeting,  the 
meeting-house  was  accepted,  the  bond  given  up,  and  the 
committee  allowed  to  sell  '  pew-spots,'  according  to  their 
contract  with  the  town.  At  the  same  meeting,  the  town 
raised  £18  to  pay  for  a  pew  and  pew  spot,  next  the 
pulpit  stairs,  and  gangway  leading  into  the  west  porch." 
The  word  gangway,  here  applied  to  an  aisle  of  a  church, 
indicates  that  seamen's  language  was  brought  to  these 
mountains  from  "  the  Cape."  The  pew  was  bought  for 
the  use  of  the  minister,  when  the  town  should  have  one; 
and  as  they  had  no  minister  at  this  time,  two  of  the  peo- 
ple were  allowed  to  "  improve  the  pew "  at  the  cus- 
tomary rent  till  it  should  be  wanted. 

When  the  proposition  was  made,  a  fortnight  later,  that 
the  town  "  purchase  the  whole  of  the  meeting-house,"  it 
was  negatived,  nor  would  the  town  vote  to  raise  £-50  "  to 
finish  the  meeting-house."  Yet  in  November  it  was 
"  voted  to  raise  £50  for  flaging  the  meeting-house  and 
building  seats  in  the  same."  1789,  May  11,  the  town 
"  voted  to  raise  £i)  to  pay  Peter  Wilcox  for  the  land  on 
which  the  meeting-house  stands."  The  question  of  finish- 
ing the  meeting-house,  and  even  of  enlarging  it,  came  up 
very  often  for  the  next  eight  years.  1796,  April,  it  was 
voted  that  individuals  shall  have  the  privilege  of  building 
pews  in  the  porch  alleys,  and  selling  them  toward  defray- 
ing the  expense.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  one  took  advant- 
age of  this  vote  to  speculate  in  church  property,  for  the 
question  of  building  a  new  meeting-house  took  the  place 
of  all  questions  pertaining  to  the  old  one. 

The  location  of  the  first  church  is  fixed  by  the  site  of 
the  well  dug  near  it.      It  was  built  on  the  east  side  of  what 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  229 

is  now  the  park,  and  faced  the  south.  The  road  as  it 
turns  the  corner,  east  of  the  park,  passes  over  the  old 
well.  There  was  no  steeple,  nor  tower,  nor  bell.  The 
sides  were  sheathed  up  with  wide  unpainted  boards. 
There  was  a  projection  or  porch  in  front,  8  feet  wide,  ex- 
tending over  one-third  the  width  of  the  building.  Simi- 
lar projections  were  put  up  over  the  other  doors  on  the 
east  and  the  west  ends.  For  several  years,  the  meeting- 
house had  no  glass  windows,  no  stationary  seats,  no  door- 
step, and  never  was  lathed.  The  style  of  architecture, 
says  Dr  Gale,  was  "  of  the  composite  order,  a  combina- 
tion of  what  may  be  called  the  square  box  and  primitive 
Gothic."  The  frame,  composed  of  massive  timbers,  rough 
as  the  woodman's  axe  left  them,  was  all  exposed  from  the 
floor  to  the  ridge  pole.  Through  the  triangles  made  by 
the  braces,  staging  poles  were  inserted,  and  on  this  roost, 
spanning  the  room,  a  daring  boy  is  known  to  have 
perched  on  the  Sabbath,  remaining  there  through  the 
afternoon  service.  The  square  pews  occupied  the  larger 
part  of  the  floor.  There  were  galleries  on  three  sides  :  in 
the  front  of  each  gallery  was  one  long  seat :  back  of  this 
seat  in  the  side  galleries  were  four  square  pews ;  in  the 
rear  of  the  seat  in  the  end  gallery,  three  such. pews. 
The  singers  stood  in  the  front  seat,  with  their  leader. 
On  one  side  of  the  only  door  of  entrance  sat  Daniel  San- 
tee,  the  negro,  with  his  long  cane  in  hand,  and  Betty,  his 
wife,  sat  on  the  other  side  of  the  door.  Daniel  faithfully 
kept  the  unruly  dogs  out  of  the  church,  and  was  a  terror 
also  to  all  roguish  boys  within.  In  a  plain  pulpit,  fast- 
ened to  the  north  end  of  the  house,  midway  from  the 
floor  to  the  plates  stood  the  young  minister.  Over  the 
pulpit  was  the  indispensable  sounding-board,  for  in  those 
days  it  was  thought  that  the  voice  of  the  preacher  would 
not  descend  to  the  pews,  if  there  was  not  something  over 
his  head  to  prevent  the  sound  from  rising.     No  cushions 


230  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

relieved  the  discomfort  of  the  rude  seats;  no  stove 
quieted  the  chattering  teeth  during  the  cold  Berkshire 
winters.  Such  was  the  place  in  which  for  twenty  years 
our  fathers  worshipped  God." 

THE    CHURCH    BUILT  A.    D.    1800. 

The  story  of  the  building  of  the  new  meeting-house 
has  been  told  with  all  needful  fullness  of  detail  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Gale,  and  can  be  only  briefly  summed  up  in  this  his- 
torical review. 

The  question  of  building  a  new  church  edifice  came 
up  as  early  as  1796  ;  but  year  after  year,  found  it  diffi- 
cult for  the  people  to  agree  how  this  should  be  done. 
One  method,  adopted  in  1799,  was  to  "class  the  pews,", 
dividing  them  into  five  classes,  of  different  values,  $25  to 
$75,  each  subscriber  agreeing  to  pay  for  a  pew  of  a  cer- 
tain class.  But  the  amount  raised,  $3,475,  was  not  what 
had  been  desired.  Then  it  was  voted  to  vendue  the  pews. 
56  individuals  bought  58  pews.  No  pew  brought  less 
than  $50.  Ebenezer  West  gave  $99.50  for  one  pew. 
Josiah  Yale  bid  off  four  for  $268.50.  A  building  commit- 
tee was  chosen,  Josiah  Yale,  Joseph  Whiton,  Seth  Backus, 
Nathan  Dillingham,  Nathan  Bassett.  The  committee 
were  to  assign  each  man's  lot  of  material  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building.  In  May,  1800,  the  plan  of  venduing 
the  pews,  was  abandoned,  the  town  voting  to  build  by 
subscription  if  $4,000  can  be  raised.  The  raising  took 
place,  July  4th,  1800.  It  was  a  day  of  great  interest. 
Under  an  awning,  the  ladies  furnished  breakfast  for  100 
men.  Cannon  were  fired,  the  drum  and  fife  were  played. 
There  was  no  religious  service,  at  the  laying  of  the  cor- 
ner stone,  but  Dr.  Hyde  offered  prayer  at  the  raising,  and 
came  down  every  morning  to  conduct  family  worship  at 
Mr.  Foote's  for  the  men  who  were  at  work.  At  the  rais- 
ing, a  stick  of  timber  eight  inches  square,  stood  eight  or 


SECOND  CHUKCH.— Built  in  1800. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  231 

ten  feet  above  the  frame.  Many  tried  to  climb  to  the 
top  but  could  not  succeed.  Rowland  Thatcher  went  up, 
stood  on  the  scanty  space,  and  after  swinging  a  junk 
bottle,  gave  it  a  toss,  which  threw  it  unbroken,  into  the 
the  meadow  now  De  Witt  Smith's  garden.  There  was  a 
rush  for  it ;  it  was  picked  up,  and  long  treasured  as  a 
sacred  relic.  It  was  carried  to  Genoa,  N.  Y.,  by  Corne- 
lius Fessenden.  It  was  used  for  many  years  as  an  ink 
bottle.  At  length  one  very  cold  night,  the  ink  froze,  and 
the  bottle  was  broken.  John  Hulett  was  the  master  car- 
penter, or  architect  and  builder,  as  we  should  say.  He 
built  the  meeting-houses  in  Richmond  and  in  Lenox. 
The  Lee  meeting-house  was  like  that  in  Richmond,  ex- 
cept that  it  was  one  foot  shorter.  Richmond,  at  this 
time,  was  considered  an  aristocratic  place,  compared  with 
Lee,  where  people  lived  and  dressed  more  plainly.  Capt. 
Alvan  Foote,  one  of  the  hundred,  who  helped  at  the  rais- 
ing, remembers  that  Mr.  Hulett  always  asked  a  blessing 
at  the  table.  The  house  was  to  be  built  by  the  people 
"  among  themselves,"  and  the  work  of  finishing  it  went 
on  slowly.  The  carpenters  were  dismissed  in  haying  and 
harvest.  Available  funds  were  not  abundant,  and  there 
was  no  agreement  as  to  the  best  method  of  paying  for 
it.  The  people  furnished  materials  and  labor,  and  the 
workmen  were  paid  in  country  produce  contributed,  so 
little  money  was  there  in  circulation.  Skilled  mechanics' 
wages  were  $1,  common  laborers  67  cents  per  day. 
Butter  was  reckoned  at  13|  cents  a  pound,  corn  50 
cents  a  bushel.  Among  those  who  were  engaged  in  the 
construction  of  the  building,  the  committee's  account  book 
gives  the  names  of  John  Hulett,  wages  $82  :  Samuel  Por- 
ter, $258  :  Benoni  and  Henry  Lewis  received  for  paint- 
ing, $108  :  Abijah  Merrill  $20  for  hooks  and  hinges,  and 
window-springs  :  Nathaniel  Basset  for  blacksmithing  and 
making  scrapers,  $0  :  Samuel  Couch  $20    for  the  vane, 


232  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

spire,  and  letters  :  Squire  Stone  $12  for  turning  the  urns 
and  ball :  Nathan  Bassett  $3  for  "  Sampson's  mallet." 
Squire  Yale  was  active  and  generous  in  his  desire  to  se- 
cure for  the  worship  of  God  a  sanctuary  that  would  be 
commodious,  convenient,  and  creditable  to  the  peo- 
ple. It  is  told  to  his  honor,  that  when  iron  was  needed 
for  the  bell,  the  common  bog  ore  making  brittle  iron,  he 
offered  his  iron  bar,  saying  that  he  knew  that  to  be  good 
The  house  was  one  of  the  first  class.  It  was  04  by  50 
feet.  The  porch  or  entrance  hall  took  off  8  feet  in  front, 
leaving  the  audience  room  56  feet  by  50.  Over  the  porch 
was  the  end  gallery.  The  side  galleries  were  of  generous 
proportions,  and  each  had  five  wall  pews  11  feet  long. 
The  broad  alley  in  the  center  was  six  feet  wide.  The 
48  body  pews  were  7£  feet  long,  and  3 \  feet  wide  :  the 
four  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit  were  7  feet  long.  The 
tower  projected  8  feet  in  front:  the  three  pews  in  this, 
back  of  the  choir,  were  9  feet  long  and  6  feet  wide.  The 
dedication  took  place,  it  is  said,  on  Tuesday  of  Thanks- 
giving week,  1801.  Dr.  Hyde,  preached  from  II  Chron. 
6  :  18.  All  that  the  town,  as  a  town,  had  paid  for  the 
new  meeting-house,  was  £50,  in  May,  1800,  for  the  land  on 
which  it  stood.  The  question  of  ownership  was  not  set- 
tled for  several  years,  and  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
people  at  every  town  meeting,  jointly  with  the  perpetual 
buying  of  plank  for  bridges.  Difficulties  in  connection 
with  seating  the  meeting-house,  dignifying  the  seats,  and 
assigning  them  to  individuals,  were  perpetually  arising. 
In  1802  a  committee  often  was  chosen  to  grade  the  ground 
and  remove  the  stone.  In  1805,  when  the  qustion  of  own- 
ership was  brought  up  in  town  meeting,  42  voted  that  the 
house  is  in  the  hands  of  individuals,  and  24  that  it  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  town.  The  building  committee's  ac- 
counts were  not  settled  for  many  years,  and  it  is  said  that 
Squire  Yale,  and  Major  Nye,  sold  their  cattle  to  satisfy  a 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  233 

demand  of  some  $300.  The  accounts  were  kept  with 
scrupulous  exactness.  Interest  was  charged  for  subscrip- 
tions not  paid,  claims  were  sold  and  transferred,  even  as 
assets  of  estates.  At  last  it  was  voted  to  vendue  the 
pews,  and  the  sale  March  27,  1810,  brought  $5,905. 
The  highest  price  paid  for  one  of  the  long  pews,  was  $140, 
the  lowest  $31.  The  "show-boxes,"  as  the  pews  each  side 
of  the  pulpit  were  called,  were  at  this  time  considered  the 
most  desirable.  In  the  course  of  time  they  came  to  be 
considered  the  least  valuable,  for  fashion  rules  in  the 
high  places  of  the  church,  as  strongly  as  in  the  courts 
of  kings. 

The  final  report  of  the  building  committee  was  made 
March  3,  1817,  and  from  that  date  church  affairs  ceased 
to  have  much  prominence  in  the  town  records.  In  1830, 
the  parish  was  formed,  and  the  town  affairs  as  such,  have 
since  then  been  kept  entirely  distinct  from  the  parish. 
In  1836  the  parish  notified  the  town  that  they  were  un- 
willing any  longer  to  have  the  town  meetings  held  in  the 
audience  room  of  the  church.  The  town  then  agreed  to 
fit  up  the  basement,  if  the  parish  would  allow  the  use 
of  it  for  town  meetings.  This  was  agreed  upon ;  the 
expense  of  fitting  was  $500.  It  was  used  for  town  meet- 
ings till  the  building  was  destroyed  by  fire  :  but  it  never 
was  pleasant,  the  room  being  low  between  joints,  and  one 
half  of  it  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  In  1833  with 
the  view  of  affording  a  suitable  building  spot  for  a  tern 
perance  hotel,  then  projected,  a  subscription  of  $1,500  was 
raised  and  the  meeting-house  moved  back  from  its  orig- 
inal location  about  200  feet  to  the  North. 

A  committee  of  the  parish  was  chosen  in  1836  to  obtain 
the  consent  of  the  proprietors  to  proposed  alterations. 
Nothing  was  done  until  1841,  when  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  report.  During  the  next  year  sixteen  parish 
meetings  were  held  to  determine  the  extent  and  pay  the 
30 


234  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

cost  of  the  alterations,  $2,400.  The  society  had  previously 
bought  the  house  of  the  pew  holders  at  $3,102.  When 
the  repairs  were  finished,  the  pews  were  appraised  for 
enough  to  cover  both  these  sums.  The  choice  money 
was  $628  ;  the  whole  amount  $6,130.  The  remodeled 
house  contained  110  pews  on  the  lower  floor,  where  pre- 
viously there  were  only  66. 

But  the  audience  room  would  not  accommodate  all 
desirous  of  seats,  and  in  1848  an  addition  was  made  of  20 
feet,  in  the  rear,  giving  44  pews,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  galleries,  which  had  been  lowered  too  much,  were 
raised.  These  repairs  cost  $2,300.  To  secure  it,  most  of 
the  pews  had  been  relinquished  at  the  price  paid  in  1841. 
At  the  sale  Dec.  14  and  Dec.  25,  the  choice  money  was 
$2,233.50;  the  whole  amount  $8,503.50.  This  not  only 
paid  all  expenses,  but  left  some  hundreds  of  dollars  in  the 
treasury.  The  length  of  the  church  without  the  tower 
was  84  feet.  The  aucfience  room  was  68  feet  long  and  48 
feet  wide.  It  would  seat  700  below,  300  above.  The 
seats  were  comfortable  and  the  church  every  way  pleasant. 

Until  1852  the  choir  was  accompanied  by  a  variety  of 
musical  instruments.  In  that  year  an  organ,  made  by 
Mr.  Johnson,  of  Westfield,    was    placed    in   the   church. 

The  bell,  bought  in  1848,  was  the  fifth  that  had  been 
hung  in  the  church.  Its  weight  was  1,732  lbs. :  cost 
$519.60  :  makers  Meneely  and  Sons,  of  West  Troy. 
The  four  previous  bells  wrere  disabled  successively  after 
longer  and  shorter  services.  The  first  bell,  bought  in 
New  Haven,  lasted  25  years,  the  second  only  two  years  : 
the  third,  of  most  musical  tone,  from  1828  to  1847,  broken 
by  the  boys  on  the  "Fourth."  The  fourth  bell  lasted 
less  than  a  year.  All  were  bought  by  subscription. 
The  bell  that  perished  with  the  church,  gave  the  alarm 
of  lire  on  the  eventful  morning  of  Jan.  23,  1857,  about 
1.30,  and  fell    soon  after  striking  3  o'elock.     Part  of  it 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  235 

melted  in  the  heat,  and  was  ibund  in  the  ashes  in  the 
form  of  shot.  570  lbs  were  recovered  by  washing  the 
ashes  after  the  fashion  of  the  California  gold  hunters. 

The  fire  which  destroyed  this  building  so  hallowed  by 
many  sacred  associations  with  past  precious  privileges, 
originated  in  Church  and  Sedgwick's  block  100  yards 
north-west  of  the  church.  The  night,  Jan.  23,  1857,  was 
intensely  cold,  and  the  water  froze  as  it  fell  from  the  fire 
engine.  A  high  wind  carried  up  a  blazing  shingle  and 
lodged  it  on  the  roof  of  the  cupola  above  the  bell.  It  was 
impossible  with  the  means  at  hand  to  stop  the  progress 
of  the  flames.  So  thoroughly  was  the  building  burned 
that  not  a  shingle  or  a  square  foot  of  timber  could  be 
found,  which  wras  not  charred  over,  two  or  three  cords  in 
all:  the  rest  was  in  ashes.  Very  little  furniture  was 
saved  from  the  burning  building,  and  at  5  a.  m.  "  the  holy 
and  beautiful  house  where  our  Fathers  praised,"  was  a  mass 
of  smoking  ruins. 

Among  the  losses  in  the  burning  of  this  church  was 
that  of  the  town  clock  which  had  three  years  previously 
been  placed  upon  its  tower  by  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Joel 
Bradley.  Shortly  after  the  clock  struck  three,  tolling  its 
own  age,  the  bell  and  clock  fell  from  the  tower. 

A  chapel,  that  stood  by  the  church,  was  also  a  prey  to 
the  devouring  flames.  It  was  built  by  subscription  in 
1854,  and  given  to  the  parish  to  be  used  solely  for  parish 
purposes.  The  building  was  50  by  32  ;  posts  16  feet 
high.  The  audience  room  was  about  37  by  30  :  12  feet 
off  the  north  end  being  teCken  for  business  rooms.  It  was 
built  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,000. 

THE    PARSONAGE. 

The  parsonage  was  saved  only  by  the  most  strenuous 
exertions.  It  was  built  in  1851  at  an  expense  of  about 
$3,000.     Previous  to  this  time  the  clergymen  had  lived 


236  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

in  their  own  hired  houses,  except  Dr.   Hyde,  who  being 
settled  for  life,  bought  a  far: 
to  the  custom  of  those  times 


settled  for  life,  bought  a  farm  and  built  a  house  according 


THE    HORSE    SHEDS. 

Those  useful,  if  not  elegant,  appendages  to  our  New 
England  meeting-houses,  the  horse  sheds,  must  not  be 
overlooked  in  this  record  of  "  the  courts  of  the  Lord's 
house."  The  first  public  mention  of  them  is  the  vote  of 
the  town  July,  1800,  "to  appoint  a  committee  of  three 
men,  to  attend  to  applications  of  persons,  who  may  want 
land  to  erect  sheds  upon,  or  any  other  buildings."  In 
1813  the  town  bought  more  ground  of  Messrs.  Foote  and 
Bradley  "  for  the  purpose  of  shed  ground  and  common." 
On  the  town  records  is  a  plot  showing  the  location  of  36 
sheds.  When  the  meeting-house  was  moved  in  1833, 
changes  were  made  in  the  "  shed  spots,"  and  still  others 
in  1848,  when  the  meeting-house  was  enlarged.  17  new 
sheds  were  built,  making  about  40  in  all.  When  the 
present  church  edifice  was  built  these  convenient  and 
necessary  appendages  were  re-arranged,  and  increased,  so 
that  few  churches  in  the  land  were  better  supplied  with 
"complementary  means  of  grace,"  as  horse  sheds  have 
been  called. 

THE    PRESENT    CHURCH    AND    CHAPEL. 

The  present  spacious  and  stately  church  building  was 
erected  by  the  parish  at  a  cost  of  about  $30,000. 

The  corner  stone  was  laid  1857,  July  21.  Dr.  Gale 
delivered  then  a  historical  address,  giving  in  greater  full- 
ness of  detail  the  facts  embodied  in  the  preceding  sketch. 
The  building  was  dedicated  by  an  eloquent  sermon  by 
Dr.  Gale,  and  by  other  religious  services,  September  1, 
1858.  The  accompanying  cut  will  give  the  reader  a  good 
idea  of  the  exterior  of  the  building.      The  main  audience 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 


THE    HISTOKY    OF    LEE.  237 

room  has  a  seating  capacity  for  over  a  thousand.  In  the 
rear  is  a  pleasant  chapel  of  a  semi-octagonal  form  with 
seating  accommodations  for  two  hundred.  This  church 
was  built  at  a  time  of  great  financial  depression,  and  too 
much  credit  cannot  be  given  to  the  building  committee 
for  carrying  the  enterprise  through  so  successfully. 

SEXTONS    AND    SERVICES. 

The  town  in  its  early  history  not  only  claimed  to  hold 
a  title  to  the  church  building,  and  to  be  under  obligation  to 
pay  the  minister's  salary,  but  made  it  its  business  to  look  af- 
ter the  cleanliness  of  the  building.  Every  year  the  duty  of 
opening  the  doors,  sweeping  the  floor,  and  ringing  the 
bell,  offered  at  vendue  to  the  lowest  bidder,  was  a  part  of 
the  transactions  of  the  town  meeting.  This  was  at  first 
a  matter  of  special  appointment  as  when  1785,  March  28, 
Hope  Davis  was  duly  elected  "  to  take  care  of  sweeping, 
and  shut  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  meeting-house, 
and  to  be  allowed  what  it  shall  be  worth  at  the  year's  end." 
1789,  March  1,  Nathaniel  Bassett  was  chosen  and  allowed 
18  shillings.  1812,  it  was  voted  that  the  bell  should  be 
rung  at  9  P.  M.  six  months  when  the  nights  were  longest ; 
the  other  six  months  at  noon.  Nathaniel  Bassett  will  be 
remembered  by  the  older  people  as  for  nearly  two  score 
years  the  sexton  who  for  sixteen  dollars  a  year  took 
care  of  the  meeting-house  and  rang  noon  and  night  the 
bell  that  marked  for  the  community  the  great  divisions 
of  each  day.  A  special  committee  was  chosen  1812,  May 
4,  to  collect  fines,  50  cents  each,  for  any  window  pane 
that  might  be  broken.  1814,  April  11,  the  town  voted 
that  the  meeting-house  floor  should  be  sanded  after  its 
washing  in  May. 

The  hours  of  religious  service  also  came  under  the  pur- 
view of  the  town  meeting. 

The  town  voted  to  reject  a  proposition  made  that  there 


238  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

should  be  but  one  preaching  service  through  the  Winter. 
1807,  April  6,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  wait  on  Dr. 
Hyde  and  see  if  will  be  agreeable  to  him  to  have  the  in- 
termission one  hour  through  the  ensuing  year. 

A  still  more  striking  instance  of  the  town's  interference 
in  what  is  now  considered  the  special  province  of  every 
religious  church  or  society,  is  the  vote  1790,  Sept.  23, 
appointing  a  committee  "  to  treat  with  regard  to  making 
some  alterations  in  the  church's  covenant." 

PARISH    EXPENSES. 

The  assumption  of  such  a  variety  of  cares  by  the  town, 
is  in  striking  contrast  to  the  limitations  now  fixed  by 
statute  to  the  interests  which  properly  and  legally  may 
come  within  the  scope  of  town  action.  In  the  report  of 
a  committee,  adopted  1788,  Jan.  3,  in  regard  to  the 
abatement  of  taxes  which  the  constables  for  various 
years  had  not  been  able  to  collect,  it  is  bewildering  to 
note  the  variety  of  objects  for  which  specific  taxes  had 
been  laid.  There  was  the  minister's  tax,  distinct  from 
the  town  and  from  the  county  tax.  Besides  these  were 
the  State  tax  No.  5,  and  the  Continental  tax.  No.  2. 
Work  on  the  meeting-house,  and  glazing  the  meeting- 
house were  to  be  paid  for  by  taxes  specially  levied  for 
the  purpose.  As  late  as  1822,  March  4,  the  town  meet- 
ing listened  to  a  report  of  a  committee,  specifying 
minutely  what  repairs  it  was  needful  to  make,  and  what 
would  be  the  probable  cost.  It  was  not  until  1830  that 
the  Siamese-twin  connection  of  church  and  town  were 
severed,  and  the  parish  freed  from  the  abnormal  and 
worrisome  dependence  upon  the  supervision  of  the 
town. 

The  main  argument  relied  upon  in  assessing  and  col- 
lecting the  minister's  tax  was  that  the  church  was  open 
to  all.     They  could  have  a  seat  if  they  chose.     Rev.  Dr. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  239 

Marsh  (father  of  Dr.  Marsh  the  secretary  of  the  Am. 
Temperance  Society),  used  this  argument  with  a  barber 
who  was  duly  assessed  though  he  never  put  his  foot 
within  the  church  doors.  Dr.  Marsh,  by  the  way,  never 
patronized  this  barber,  but  sent  his  wig  to  Hartford  to  be 
dressed.  Soon  after  the  constable  had  made  his  annual 
rounds,  the  minister  was  surprised  by  receiving  a  bill  from 
the  barber  for  dressing  his  wig.  "  How's  this  ?  "  he  ex- 
claimed. "  I've  never  had .  any  wig  dressed  by  yon." 
"But  you  might  have  had  it  done,"  was  the  reply.  The 
Doctor  saw  the  point,  and  paid  the  bill,  the  exact 
amount  of  the  barber's  minister  tax. 

THE    CONGREGATIONAL    PARISH. 

In  1830  the  parish  system  for  the  management  of  the 
secular  affairs  of  the  church  was  adopted.  The  parish 
consisted  not  only  of  the  members  of  the  church  but  of 
all  others  who  were  willing  to  unite  with  it  and  share 
the  responsibility  for  the  support  of  the  gospel.  Hereto- 
fore the  law  required  every  man  to  be  taxed  for  the 
benefit  of  some  ecclesiastical  society,  giving  him  the 
choice  to  which  his  assessment  should  be  paid.  Hence- 
forth all  religious  societies  were  voluntary  organizations, 
not  even  church  members  being  required  by  law  to  con- 
tribute toward  their  support.  This  was  a  great  revolu- 
tion and  many  old  and  wise  heads  thought  it  would 
result  in  the  ruin  of  the  country.  In  this  town  the  plan 
of  supporting  the  gospel  by  a  tax  on  the  property  of  the 
parish,  was  adopted  and  continued  in  operation  long  after 
almost  every  town  in  the  state  had  given  it  up.  Indeed 
the  Congregational  parish  still  raises  its  funds  mostly  by 
taxation,  property  and  pews  being  taxed  for  about  an 
equal  amount. 


240  THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE. 

THE    CHURCH    AT    SOUTH    LEE. 

"  In  1805  Rev.  Mr.  Garrison  began  holding  religious 
meetings  in  the  school-house  in  the  east  end  of  the  vil- 
lage of  South  Lee.  One  service  was  held  on  the  Sabbath 
for  several  years.  The  preachers  were  itinerant,  but 
most  generally  lived  in  town.  Among  the  first  was  Rev. 
William  Ross,  a  native  of  Lee.  A  complete  list  of  the  va- 
rious preachers  cannot  be  given.  Among  them  are  re- 
membered with  affectionate  respect  Rev.  Messrs.  Wool- 
sey,  Cook,  Rice,  Hibbard,  Jacobs,  Clark,  Smith,  Bangs. 

In  1827  a  Baptist  church  was  organized  at  Tyringham 
in  connection  with  the  labors  of  Elder  Ira  Hall.  About 
the  same  time  he  extended  his  labors  to  South  Lee, 
preaching  in  the  adjacent  school-house  No.  2,  in  the  Hop- 
land  district.  The  religious  interest  awakened  led  to 
an  effort  to  build  in  South  Lee  a  meeting-house  suitable 
for  religious  purposes.  As  no  denomination  felt  strong 
enough  to  undertake  the  work  alone,  it  was  wisely  deter- 
mined to  combine  the  different  religious  interests  in  the 
erection  of  a  house  to  be  used  by  each  under  such  regu- 
lations as  might  be  agreed  upon.  The  first  meeting  with 
this  object  in  view  was  held  at  the  school-house  in  South 
Lee,  May  14,  1827.  A  half  acre  of  land  having  been 
purchased  from  Gen.  Joseph  Whiting,  a  constitution  was 
drawn  up,  subscriptions  collected,  and  the  building  begun. 
The  dedication  took  place  August  21,  1828.  The  consti- 
tution provided  for  the  occupancy  of  the  house  in  these 
terms  :  "  The  First  Baptist  Society  in  said  town  [known 
as  the  Tyringham  and  Lee  Baptist  Church]  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Society  shall  have  the  occupancy  of 
said  house  on  the  Sabbath  when  they  have  appointments 
for  that  purpose  ;  but  when  the  two  societies  have  no  ap- 
pointments, the  house  shall  be  opened  at  all  times  to  the 
Congregationalists  and  other  religious  societies."  For 
the   purpose   of  vesting   the   control   of  the   house   in  a 


METHODIST  CHURCH.-Fern  Cliff  in  the  Rear. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  241 

definite  body,  it  was  further  provided  that  all  subscribers 
to  the  building  fund  to  the  amount  of  five  dollars  should 
be  entitled  to  one  vote  and  one  sitting,  and  in  the  same 
proportion  for  all  additional  sums. 

For  a  considerable  number  of  years,  worship  was  sus- 
tained by  Baptists  and  Methodists  on  alternate  Sabbaths. 
The  Baptist  ministers  who  succeeded  Ira  Hall  were  Alex. 
Bush,  Geo.  Phippen,  and  Forris  Moore.  The  Methodist 
ministers  in  whose  circuit  South  Lee  was  included  were 
too  numerous  to  mention.  Subsequently  Rev.  Mr.  Brad- 
ley, a  Congregationalist,  was  settled  here  a  few  years. 

After  this  field  had  been  in  a  large  measure  abandoned 
by  the  three  denominations  interested  in  the  erection  of 
the  house,  the  Episcopalians  established  worship,  and 
have  maintained  it  with  little  interruption  to  the  present 
time. 

In  1862  the  house  was  repaired  at  an  expense  of  nearly 
$450.00.  Through  the  liberality  of  the  Episcopal  church 
in  Stockbridge,  a  very  serviceable  pipe  organ  was  placed 
in  the  church  in  1867.  Three  years  later  the  house  was 
again  put  in  thorough  repair,  many  alterations  made  and 
a  belfry  and  a  bell  added  to  its  exterior,  involving  alto- 
gether an  expense  of  over  $1,300.00. 

THE   METHODIST    EPISCOPAL   CHURCH   AND    SOCIETY 
OF   LEE. 

BY    REV.    A.    OSTRANDER. 

Previous  to  1831  the  Methodists  in  Lee  held  occasional  meetings 
in  various  district  school-houses.  In  that  year,  Revs.  David  Holmes 
and  Thomas  Sparks  established  regular  services,  and  Lee  became  a 
Conference  Missionary  station,  remaining  such  until  1838.  Meetings 
were  still  held  in  school-houses,  especially  those  in  Water  street  and 
at  the  Center,  until  1839.  In  January  of  that  year,  Frederick  Aran 
Tassel,  Cyrus  Shaw,  Ackley  Fuller,  Reynolds  White,  John  Sturges, 
Asa  Stebbins,  Amos  Barnes  and  Amos  Maxfield  made  a  petition  to 
Hubbard  Bartlett,  Esq.,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  to  issue  a  warrant  in 
the  name  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  to  call  a  meeting  of 
31 


242  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

the  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  of  Lee.  The  meeting  was  held  ac- 
cording to  warrant,  in  the  Center  school-house,  January  16,  1839. 
Organization  was  effected  hy  the  election  of  Lorenzo  D.  Brown  as 
Chairman,  and  \Y.  II.  Hill  (now  of  Lenox),  Clerk.  The  first  Trustees 
were  Amos  Haines,  Thomas  Hulett,  Asa  Stebbins,  M.  I).  Field  and 
John  Sturges.  At  this  meeting,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  raise 
money  by  subscription  for  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice,  and  a 
Building  Committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  M.  D.  Field,  Albert 
M.  Howk,  L.  D.  Brown,  John  Sturges  and  Wm.  H.  Hill.  Funds  were 
secured,  and  a  building  40x55  feet  was  erected,  costing  $2,381.81. 
It  was  dedicated  January  25,  1840,  the  sermon  being  preached  by  the 
Rev.  Jacob  C.  Shaw  of  Tyringham.  In  1846,  the  land  on  which  the 
church  and  parsonage  are  built  was  quit-claimed  to  the  Trustees  by 
the  American  Bible  Societ}',  for  the  use  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  In  1849  the  building  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  twenty 
feet  to  its  eastern  end.  During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  L.  W.  Wals- 
worth,  1864-67,  the  front  of  the  church  was  re-modeled  and  improved, 
and  the  steeple  erected.  During  the  same  period  the  indebtedness  of 
the  society  was  paid. 

The  parsonage  was  built  in  1852  under  the  administration  of  Rev. 
Z.  K  Lewis. 

In  the  Fall  of  1876,  the  gallery  of  the  church  which  had  long  been 
unused,  was  so  re-constructed  and  enlarged  as  to  form  a  commodious 
chapel,  thus  supplying  a  long-needed  want. 

At  the  present  time,  the  Society  enjoys  the  possession  of  a  substan- 
tial church  and  parsonage  property  valued  at  $20,000,  entirely  free 
from  debt  or  incumbrance  of  any  kind.  From  1831  to  1843  Lee 
formed  part  of  a  circuit,  sharing  the  services  of  the  appointed  preach- 
ers with  Lenox  and  other  points.  .Since  1843  Lee  has  been  a  sepa- 
rate station,  receiving  its  pastors  by  appointment  of  the  New  York 
Annual  Conference,  each  year,  without  interruption.  The  following  is 
believed  to  be  a  correct  list  of  the  pastors  from  1831  to  1878  : 

is;;].  Holmes  and  Sparks.  1844-46.  John  A.  Silleck. 

1832.  Julius  Field.  1846-48.  J.  X.  Shaffer, 

is:;."..  T.  Sparks.  L848-50.  Pelatiah  Ward. 

L834-35.  J.  B.  Wakeley.  1850-51.  J.  Z.  Nichols. 

L836.    Denton  Keeler.   '  L851-53.  Z.N.Lewis. 

1837.   Keder  and  Warner.  L853-54.  Luther  W.  Peck. 

L838.   ML  Van  Deusenand  A.  Nash.  1854-56.  Wm.  Ostrander. 

is;;:).  M".  Van  Deusen  and  Shaw.  1856-58.  Marvin  R.  Lent. 

L840    I-.   \V,„.  Gothard.  1858-60.  Z.  X.  Lewis. 

L842   II    l  has.  C.  Keys.  L860  61.  IF.  C.  Humphrey. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  243 

1861-62.  Alexander  McLean.  1871-73,  Clark  Wright. 

1862-64.  Thos.  E.  Fero.  1873-75.  Winslow  W.  Sever. 

1804-07.  L.  W.  Walsworth.  1875-76.  H.  B.  Mead. 

1867-69.  Wm.  Hall.  1876-78.  A.  Ostrander. 

1869-71.  Wm.  Stevens. 

By  this  record,  it  appears  that  this  Church  has  had  thirty  pastors 
during  forty-seven  years.  Generally  they  have  heen  men  of  zeal,  full 
of  love  for  their  Master,  and  untiring  in  their  efforts  to  win  souls  to 
Christ  and  to  build  up  the  Church.  Under  their  ministry  the  Church 
has  enjoyed  frequent  revival  seasons,  one  of  the  most  noteworthy 
being  that  during  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  C.  C.  Keys,  of  whom  his 
biographer  says  : 

"His  term  of  service  in  Lee,  Mass.,  was  crowned  with  remarkable 
displays  of  grace.  In  midsummer  his  church  was  thronged  by  anx- 
ious listeners  to  his  word,  while  the  crowd  outside,  unable  to  find  en- 
trance, often  extended  to  the  street." 

Rev.  J.  B.  Wakeley  became  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  popular 
men  in  the  Church,  both  in  pulpit  service  and  literature. 

Rev.  Pelatiah  Ward  entered  the  army  as  a  captain  during  the  Re- 
bellion, and  fell  while  gallantly  leading  his  men  at  the  battle  of  Ma- 
nassas in  1862. 

Rev.  J.  Z.  Nichols  was  removed  at  the  end  of  his  first  year  to  be 
made  Presiding  Elder  of  Rhinebeck  District. 

Rev.  Z.  N.  Lewis  is  the  only  pastor  who  has  served  the  Church  a 
second  term,  having  been  recalled  by  petition  in  1858. 

Of  the  pastors  previous  to  1840,  only  three — Messrs.  D.  Keeler, 
M.  Van  Deusen  and  A.  Nash — are  known  to  be  living  ;  while  of  the 
twenty-one  since  that  date  all  are  living  except  Messrs.  Keys,  Silleck, 
Ward,  Fero  and  Hall. 

Prominent  among  the  early  members  of  the  Church  were  Wm.  L. 
Culver,  Jesse  Chene}r,  Hosea  Allen,  Jr.,  James  Reed,  Robt.  Thomson, 
Kenaz  Clark  and  David  Baker.  Of  these  the  last  alone  remains,  and 
is  now  the  oldest  male  member  of  the  Church. 

Among  the  trustees,  the  names  of  Albert  M.  Howk  and  Caleb  Ben- 
ton are  prominent  as  life-long  and  staunch  supporters  of  the  Church. 

The  present  number  of  communicants  in  the  Church  is  211. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  the  Official  Board  of  the  Church  for  the 
present  Conference  year  (1877;  : 

Pastor. — Rev.  A.  Ostrander. 

Stewards. — H.  M.  Bradley,  A.  C.  Sparks,  Daniel  Pultz,  H.  Hard- 
ing, E.  H.  Saunders.  Wm.  H.  Hill,  Theo.  D.  Holmes.  H.  Couch,  J. 
Campbell. 


244  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Leaders.— H.  M.  Bradley,  W.  H.  Hill,  Theo.  D.  Holmes,  Mrs.  0. 
E.  Crowl. 

District  Steward. — A..  C.  Sparks. 

Recording  Steward. — E.  II.  Saunders. 

The  Officers  of  the  Society  are  : 

Trustees. — J.  F.  Benton,  Daniel  Pultz,  E.  L.  Melius,  Chas.  A. 
Childs,  L.  E.  Hard. 

Treasurer. — A.  C.  Sparks. 

Collector. — Daniel  Pultz. 

The  last  named  officer  died  on  the  8th  of  August,  1877.  His  love 
for  the  Church  and  his  untiring  efforts  for  its  welfare  place  him  in 
the  foremost  rank  of  its  friends  and  supporters. 

AVe  are  indebted  for  most  of  the  material  of  this  sketch  to  E.  H. 
Saunders,  Esq.,  the  present  Clerk  of  the  Society ;  for  thirty  3'ears  a 
member,  and  nearly  as  long  an  officer  of  the  Church.  We  close  with 
his  devout  words  : 

"For  what  God  hath  prospered  us, 
To  Him  shall  be  all  the  praise.     Amen  !  " 


THE    AFRICAN    CHURCH. 

In  1844  Albert  Marie  came  into  town  and  visited  the 
colored  people.  He  preached  to  them  in  school-houses 
and  private  dwellings  and  organized  a  church.  Previous 
to  this  time  the  few  colored  people  in  the  town  had 
worshiped  in  the  other  churches  and  some  of  them  were 
exemplary  professors  of  religion.  In  1852  a  church 
edifice  was  erected  by  the  colored  people,  aided  by  be- 
nevolent individuals  in  the  other  congregations.  This 
organization  is  styled,  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  has  had  many  preachers  and  many  exhorters 
but  no  records  can  be  found  of  its  early  history.  The 
present  pastor,  or  rather  preacher,  is  Rev.  L.  H.  Cloyd, 
a  faithful  man,  who  is  sustained  in  part  by  the  Berkshire 
and  Columbia  Missionary  Society.  The  whole  number 
of  colored  persons  in  town  is  less  than  one  hundred. 
The  number  of  communicants  with  the  African  church  is 
twenty-four. 


BAPTIST  CIIURCIT. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  245 

THE   BAPTIST   CHURCH   IN   LEE. 

BY    REV.    P.    A.    NORDELL. 

As  the  population  of  the  town  of  Lee  increased,  Baptist  families 
moved  in.  Those  living  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town  found 
church  privileges  in  the  Tyringham  church  or  in  the  branch  at  South 
Lee.  Those  living  in  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  the  town 
attended  worship  in  the  Congregational  or  Methodist  churches. 

In  the  Spring  of  1850  the  Rev.  Amory  Gale  visited  Lee  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  the  number  of  Baptists  in  town  was 
sufficiently  great  to  warrant  the  organization  of  a  church.  The  first 
meeting  was  held  July  2,  and  it  was  resolved  to  establish  Baptist 
preaching  at  once.  Further  action  was  delayed  until  a  sufficient 
number  had  obtained  letters  of  dismission  from  their  respective 
churches.  On  the  14th  of  Sept.  1850  the  church  was  organized  with 
twenty  constituent  members,  Articles  of  Faith  were  adopted,  Mr.  M.  E. 
Culver  chosen  deacon,  a  prudential  committee  appointed,  candidates 
for  baptism  received,  and  a  unanimous  call  extended  to  Rev.  A.  Gale 
to  become  the  pastor.  A  council  summoned  to  recognize  the  new 
church  met  Oct.  8th.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Bradley 
Miner  of  Pittsfield.  The  recognition  service,  through  the  courtesy  of 
the  Congregational  brethren,  was  held  in  their  church. 

The  following  Summer  a  lot  suitable  for  the  erection  of  a  house  of 
worship  was  secured  and  building  was  begun.  By  the  Fall  of  1852 
the  work  had  progressed  sufficiently  to  permit  the  dedication  of  the 
house.     The  basement  remained  unfinished  for  a  considerable  time. 

Sometime  after  the  organization  of  the  church,  Mr.  Eli  Taintor  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  deacon.  July  29th.  1852  the  number  of  dea- 
cons was  increased  to  three  by  the  election  of  Mr.  Hosea  Codding. 

The  first  two  years  were  marked  by  a  rapid  growth.  A  strict 
discipline,  without  which  no  church  can  prosper,  was  vigilantly  main- 
tained. Notwithstanding  losses  by  death  and  exclusion,  the  church 
reported  a  membership  of  101  at  the  meeting  of  the  Berkshire  Bap- 
tist Association,  Sept.  30th.  1852.  During  the  next  few  years  the 
growth  though  not  so  marked  was  encouraging. 

The  general  prosperity  of  the  town  and  its  promise  of  rapid  in- 
crease in  population,  tempted  the  young  church  to  the  building  of  a 
larger  and  more  expensive  house  of  worship  than  the  needs  of  the 
congregation  demanded  either  at  that  time,  or  subsequently.  The  im- 
mediate consequence  was  a  large  debt,  which  might  soon  have  been  ex- 
tinguished if  the  prosperous  times  had  continued.  Even  during  the  few 
years  of  business  activity  which  continued  after  the  organization  of 


246  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

the  church,  much  difficulty  and  discouragement  were  experienced  from 
the  floating  character  of  the  population  out  of  which  the  church  Lad 
been  built  up.  Tins  proved  to  be  a  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  re- 
moving the  debt,  which  with  unpaid  interest  amounted  in  Nov.  1855 
to  $4,528.38.  In  addition  to  (bis,  there  was  an  annual  delicit  of 
nearly  three  hundred  dollars.  A  committee  appointed  by  the  associa- 
tion to  examine  the  condition  and  prospects  of  the  church,  unanimously 
advised  the  other  churches  of  the  association  to  render  aid,  if  possible, 
to  the  extent  of  $2,500,  toward  the  extinguishment  of  this  debt, 
provided  the  remainder  be  raised  by  the  church.  No  further  action 
seems  to  have  been  taken  in  the  matter ;  the  burden  remained  a 
source  of  anxiety,  and  a  grave  binderance  to  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
advancement  of  the  church. 

In  the  Summer  of  1856,  the  newly  organized  Episcopal  society 
secured  the  use  of  the  house  for  divine  service  at  such  times  as  would 
not  interfere  with  the  worship  of  the  Baptist  congregation.  This 
arrangement  was  continued  a  number  of  months. 

The  following  January,  a  disastrous  fire  occurred  in  the  village 
which  consumed  with  other  buildings  the  Congregational  meeting- 
house. The  use  of  the  Baptist  house  was  immediately  tendered  to 
the  Congregational  church,  until  such  time  as  they  might  be  able  to 
erect  another  house.  The  offer  was  accepted  and  the  two  congrega- 
tions worshipped  together  till  April  25th,  1859.  As  the  only  church- 
bell  in  town  was  destroyed  at  the  burning  of  the  Congregational 
church  the  want  of  one  was  felt  immediately.  A  new  bell  weighing 
1,329  lbs.  on  the  hey  of  F  sharp,  was  therefore  purchased  by  public 
subscription  and  placed  in  the  steeple  of  the  Baptist  church,  where  it 
still  remains. 

Rev.  Amory  Gale  who  had  been  the  beloved  pastor  of  the  church 
nearly  seven  years,  being  called  to  labor  in  the  West  with  the  pros- 
pect of  greatly  enlarged  usefulness,  resigned  his  charge  of  the  church 
to  take  effe  t  the  first  of  June,  1857.  By  his  Christian  zeal  and  large- 
minded  interest  in  whatever  pertained  to  the  welfare  of  the  public  he 
greatly  endeared  himself  not  only  to  the  church  for  which  he  had  la- 
bored, Imt  to  the  community  in  which  he  had  lived.  After  eighteen 
years  of  faithful  labor  in  the  West,  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  active 
work  through  failing  health.  In  quest  of  health  he  was  induced  to 
go  abroad,  but  died  in  Syria  in  November  1874.  There  he  will  rest 
in  soil  made  sacred  by  the  tread  of  the  Divine  Master  to  whose  service 
he  so  patiently  and  joyfully  gave  the  strength  of  his  life. 

The  Church  was  suffering  at  this  time,  no!  only  from  the  burden  of 
its  distressing  debt,  but  from  the  Joss  of  many  of  its  best  members, 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  247 

compelled  to  remove  from  Lee  by  the  utter  prostration  of  business. 
Only  93  members  were  reported  t<>  the  Association  in  1857.  Never- 
theless, it  was  deemed  best  to  secure  a  pastor  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
on  the  tenth  of  August,  a  unanimous  call  was  given  to  Kev.  Ealph  H. 
Bowles  of  Brandford,  Conn.  Under  his  ministry  the  Church  pros- 
pered greatly  in  respect  to  accessions  to  its  membership,  130  being 
reported  in  1859.  But  there  was  no  relief  from  financial  distress. 
After  numerous  ineffectual  appeals  to  the  Association  for  aid,  it  be- 
came apparent  that  the  property  must  be  surrendered  to  pay  the  debt. 
Mr.  Bowles  resigned  his  charge  of  the  Church  August  18,  1861,  and 
September  28th,  the  Church  voted  to  assign  its  property  to  its  credi- 
tors. They  were  not  exacting,  however,  and,  in  hope  that  a  way  out 
of  the  difficulty  might  be  devised,  the  sale  was  defeired  about  two 
years.  In  February,  1862,  Kev.  Charles  W.  Potter  began  preaching 
as  a  supply,  but  was  engaged  as  pastor  the  following  September. 
This  engagement  was  brief,  for  he  resigned  June  5,  1863. 

The  15th  of  May,  1863,  was  truly  a  dark  day  in  the  history  of  this 
struggling  Church.  The  evils  which  had  so  long  threatened,  and 
which  the  Church  had  striven  so  persistently  to  ward  off,  culminated 
in  the  alienation  of  its  property  at  public  sale.  It  was  apprised  at 
$7,000.00,  and  sold  to  Mr.  S.  V.  B.  Daniels  of  Pittsfield,  for  $2,325.00. 
Unexpectedly  the  Lord  opened  a  light  in  the  darkness,  for  Mr.  Dan- 
iels very  generously  offered  to  let  the  Church  occupy  the  house  so 
long  as  it  might  remain  in  his  hands.  In  the  course  of  a  couple  of 
weeks,  measures  were  taken  for  re-opening  the  house.  For  a  number 
of  months,  preaching  was  furnished  by  temporary  supplies,  but  Octo- 
ber 4th,  a  very  hearty  invitation  was  extended  to  Bev.  Asa  Bronson 
of  Fall  Biver,  to  become  its  pastor,  which  call  he  accepted. 

On  the  first  of  November,  a  meeting  was  held  to  consider  the  expe- 
diency of  disbanding  the  church  organization.  The  reasons  given 
were,  that  the  membership  of  the  Church  had  become  very  much 
scattered,  and  the  present  residence  of  a  large  number  of  the  members 
was  unknown ;  and  that  the  Church  had  heretofore  labored  under 
many  embarrassments  which  had  brought  it  into  more  or  less  disfavor, 
all  of  which  rendered  it  desirable  that  the  old  organization  should  be 
disbanded.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and  letters  of  dismission  were 
issued  to  all  members  in  good  standing. 

At  the  same  meeting,  and  by  subsequent  effort,  thirty-four  names 
were  secured  of  those  desiring  to  organize  a  new  Baptist  interest  in 
Lee.  This  was  done  November  22d,  1863,  and  the  new  organization 
received  the  name  of  "The  Bethel  Baptist  Church  and  Society  in 
Lee."     From  this,  it  appears  that  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  combine 


248  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

with  the  church  organization  proper,  a  society,  a  relic  of  the  former 
unholy  alliance  between  Church  and  State,  from  which  nearly  all 
Baptist  Churches  in  the  Commonwealth  had  disencumbered  them- 
selves. Rev.  Asa  Bronson  became  its  pastor,  Brother  J.  A.  Boyce, 
clerk,  and  Brethren  Hosea  Codding  and  Wm.  A.  Brown,  deacons. 
The  growth  was  encouraging.  Nevertheless,  Mr.  Bronson  tendered 
his  resignation  September  4th,  which  was  accepted,  and  Bev.  H.  A. 
Morgan  of  Becket,  elected  his  successor.  In  1SG5,  the  possession 
of  the  house  was  transferred  from  Brother  S.  V.  R.  Daniels  to  the 
Berkshire  Baptist  Association,  and  its  use  offered  to  the  Church 
on  very  easy  conditions.  A  number  of  needed  repairs  were  made 
by  the  Church,  and  a  new  carpet  purchased,  involving  an  expense  of 
$1,726.  During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Morgan,  the  Church  enjoyed 
a  steady,  quiet  growth,  and  many  improvements  were  made.  He 
offered  his  resignation  and  preached  his  farewell  sermon,  November 
29,  1868. 

During  the  next  four  months,  preaching  was  maintained  by  irregu- 
lar supplies.  A  call  was  then  extended  to  Bev.  Ralph  H.  Bowles, 
their  former  pastor,  and  he  began  his  labors  April  4,  1869.  This  pas- 
torate was  brief,  Mr.  Bowles  resigning  his  charge  of  the  Church, 
March  20,  1870. 

Two  months  after  this,  Bev.  Joseph  H.  Seaver  of  Salem,  became 
pastor  of  the  Church.  He  remained  only  a  year,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Bev.  Stephen  Pillsbury  of  Newton,  who  entered  upon  his  work 
June  1,  1871.  The  Church  reported  this  year  a  membership  of  68. 
His  labors  extended  over  a  period  of  three  years,  and  promoted  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  interests  of  the  Church.  Some  old  debts  were 
paid,  furnaces  introduced,  and  other  improvements  made.  During  the 
Winter  of  1873-4,  a  gracious  revival  was  experienced,  from  which 
much  fruit  was  reaped  by  the  Church.  He  closed  his  labors  in  Lee 
March  29,  1874,  and  was  followed,  May  3d,  by  Bev.  P.  A.  Nordell  of 
Rochester,  N.  Y.  During  his  pastorate,  repairs  and  improvements 
were  made  on  the  house.  A  new  and  substantial  carpet  was  pur- 
chased, a  large  chandelier  and  other  lamps  procured ;  the  roof  was 
reshingled,  and  the  dingy  appearance  of  the  interior  relieved  by  fresco- 
ing the  ceiling  and  walls  ;  all  the  pulpit  appointments  were  remodeled. 
Efforts  were  made  to  place  the  Church  upon  a  firm  financial  basis, 
which  would  have  been  easily  accomplished  but  for  the  protracted 
financial  distress  which  followed  the  panic  of  1874.  A  number  were 
added  by  baptism  and  letter.  The  present  membership  is  112.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  that  this  Church,  which  lias  so  long  and  so  patiently 
struggled  against  adversity  and  discouragement,  will   witness,  at  no 


ST.  GEORGE'S  CHURCH.    (Episcopal.) 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  249 

distant  day,  abundant  temporal  and  spiritual  prosperity.  After  a 
pastorate  of  nearly  three  years  and  a  half,  Mr.  Nordell  terminated  his 
labors  with  the  Church,  September  1,  1877. 

HISTORY  OF  ST.  GEORGE'S  CHURCH,  LEE,  MASS. 

BY  REV.  W.  R.  HARRIS. 

Occasional  services  of  the  Episcopal  Church  were  held  in  Lee,  by 
clergymen  from  Lenox  and  Stockbridge,  previous  to  the  year  1855. 
No  attempt,  however,  was  made  to  organize  a  parish  until  about  that 
time.  On  the  17th  of  May,  1856,  an  application  was  made  to  the 
Hon.  Lester  Filley,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  by  several  residents  of  the 
Town,  requesting  him  to  issue  a  warrant,  calling  a  meeting  of  them- 
selves, with  others,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  parish  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church,  and  to  appoint  a  time  and  place  of  meeting. 

The  warrant  was  issued  on  May  27th,  and  4  o'clock  P.  M.  of  the  4th 
day  of  June  next  ensuing  was  appointed  as  the  time,  and  the  Police 
Court  Room  the  place  for  said  meeting. 

Pursuant  to  the  above  call,  the  friends  of  the  movement  assembled 
at  the  time  and  place  appointed,  when  the  Hon.  Lester  Filley  was 
chosen  chairman  and  Edward  Foote  clerk  of  the  meeting. 

The  permanent  officers  elected  were  : 

Wardens,  Lester  Filley  and  William  T.  Fish  ;  Vestrymen,  James 
A.  Weed,  Amos  Fish,  John  Evans,  Benjamin  F.  Bosworth,  and  W. 
L.  Davies. 

Early  in  June  of  the  same  year,  the  Rev.  George  T.  Chapman, 
D.  P.,  an  elderty  but  distinguished  presbyter  of  the  Church,  assumed 
the  charge  of  the  Parish  as  its  first  Rector,  a  position  in  which  he 
labored  faithfully  and  successfully  for  three  years.  Immediate  steps 
were  taken  toward  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice.  In  September,  a 
lot  of  ground  situated  on  Franklin  street  was  purchased  of  Benjamin 
F.  Dean  for  the  sum  of  $625.00.  Mr.  Elizur  Smith  also  conveyed 
to  the  Parish  for  "good  will,"  a  narrow  strip  adjoining  the  lot  which 
was  necessary  to  afford  access  to  it.  The  work  of  building  began 
in  1857,  and  a  neat  and  churchly  frame'  edifice  was  completed  early 
in  the  following  year  at  a  cost  of  about  $7,500.00.  The  first  service 
was  held  in  it  on  January  31,  1858,  Dr.  Chapman  preaching  an 
appropriate  discourse. 

At  Easter,   1859,    Dr.   Chapman,    owing   to   advanced  age  and  in- 

preasing  infirmities,  resigned  the  charge  of  the  Parish.     He  removed 

to  Newburyport,  where  he  resided,  honored  and  esteemed  by  all  who 

knew   him,  until   his    decease,  which    took    place  in   1872.      He   was 

32 


250  TITE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

succeeded  in  the  Rectorship  by  the  Rev.  John  F.  Spaulding,  now  (1877) 
Bishop  of  Colorado.  His  pastorate,  however,  continued  only  for  fifteen 
months.  During  this  time  the  attendance  on  the  services  increased, 
and  the  Parish  prospered.  After  Mr.  Spaulding's  resignation,  which 
took  effect  October,  1860,  there  appear  to  have  been  several  clergymen 
in  charge  of  the  Parish,  in  frequent  succession,  either  as  rectors  or 
temporary  supplies.  On  Christmas  eve,  1861,  the  church  with  all  it 
contained  was  destroyed  by  fire.  This  was  a  severe  loss,  as  after  all 
liabilities  had  been  met  there  was  but  a  small  balance  remaining  to 
the  Parish.  For  a  time  nothing  was  done  toward  rebuilding  and  no 
services  were  held.  After  some  delay,  however,  it  was  decided  to 
erect  a  new  edifice,  to  be  built  of  stone.  Mr.  Charles  Heebner,  the 
owner  of  the  marble  quarries,  furnished  the  material  and  contributed 
largely  toward  the  work.  The  progress  of  rebuilding  was  slow,  the 
new  church  was  not  completed  until  April  1865,  nor  wholly  furnished 
with  bell,  chairs,  lamps,  etc.,  until  four  or  five  years  later.  After  all 
was  done,  considerable  encumbrance  remained  upon  the  property, 
which  was  not  entirely  removed  until  1873.  In  Lent  of  this  year  an 
effort  was  made  which  proved  successful,  to  raise  sufficient  funds  to 
liquidate  the  whole  indebtedness  of  the  Parish.  The  mortgage  was 
canceled  in  September,  and  on  the  7th  of  October  the  Rt.  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin F.  Paddock,  D.  D.,  the  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  consecrated  the 
church  under  the  name  and  title  of  St.  George's  Church,  to  "the  ser- 
vice of  Almighty  God,  the  Blessed  and  Undivided  Trinity,  according 
to  the  provisions  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  in  its  Ministry,  Doctrine,  Liturgy,  Rites,  and 
Usages." 

In  June,  1875,  a  very  nice  organ  of  eight  stops  was  presented  to 
the  church  by  the  Rev.  William  Gill,  a  former  parishioner.  The 
Rectors  during  this  period  were  : 

The  Rev.  Gustavus  Murray,         .  .  .       1864  to  1866. 

The  Rev.  E.  R.  Bishop, 1866. 

The  Rev.  W.  C.  Winslow,   ....       1867  to  1870. 
The  Rev.  W.  R.  Harris,      .  .  1871  (present  incumbent.) 

This  is  the  history  of  the  outward  and  the  visible.  The  history  of 
tin'  inward  and  the  spiritual,  which  is  the  true  history  of  a  church, 
can  not  be  written.  The  story  of  children  new  born  to  God,  of  godly 
lives  begun,  of  faith  increased,  of  souls  strengthened  and  refreshed 
and  purified  by  prayer,  by  sacraments,  by  the  reading  and  preaching 
of  God's  Word  —  this,  the  most  precious  part  of  the  church's  life, 
running  through  a  long  period  of  years,  the  Last  Day  only  can  reveal. 


ST.  MARY'S  CHURCH.   (Catholic.) 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  251 

The  statistics  of  the  Parish,  taken  from  the  last  annual  report  to 
the  Convention,  for  the  year  1876-77,  are : 

Bnptisms,     .........         3 

Confirmed,   .........  5 

Communicants,     .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .56 

Families,      .........       54 

S.  S.  Officers  and  Scholars, (about)  40 

HISTORY  OF    ST.    MARY'S    CHURCH    (CATHOLIC). 

The  first  settlements  in  Lee  were  made  almost  exclu- 
sively by  Protestants,  generally  Congregationalists.  Dur- 
ing the  first  half  century  after  its  incorporation,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  history  of  the  Congregational  church  was 
almost  identical  with  the  history  of  the  town.  At  the 
time  of  Dr.  Hyde's  death  (1833)  the  Congregational  was 
the  only  church  organization  in  the  center  of  the  town. 
There  was  scarcely  a  Catholic  resident  here,  and  the  num- 
ber was  small  till  the  building  of  the  Housatonic  railroad 
in  1849.  The  construction  of  this  road  brought  in  large 
numbers  of  Irishmen,  mostly  Catholics,  many  of  whom 
remained  and  sought  occupation  in  the  mills  and  on  the 
farms.  To  minister  to  this  population,  Rev.  P.  Cuddihy 
came  down  from  Pittsfield  occasionally,  and  under  his 
direction  St.  Mary's  Church  was  built  in  1856.  Rev.  Pe- 
ter Eagan  was  assigned  to  the  pastorate  of  this  church  in 
October,  1857,  and  continued  in  charge  till  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1864.  During  his  ministry,  the  Catho- 
lic population  of  the  town  increased  rapidly,  and  the  at- 
tendance at  his  church  was  larger  than  at  any  other,  many 
coming  from  the  neighboring  towns. 

Rev.  George  H.  Brennan  succeeded  Mr.  Eagan,  and  is 
the  present  pastor.  Under  his  ministry  the  attendance 
at  St.  Mary's  has  steadily  increased,  except  for  a  short 
period  in  1869-70,  when,  owing  to  the  stoppage  of  work 
in  the  quarries  and  some  other  changes  in  business,  many 
Catholics  left   town.     The   present   attendance  is  larger 


252  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

than  ever  before,  being  about  2,000.  The  Sunday-school 
is  also  flourishing,  numbering  some  500  children.  Mr. 
Brennan  found  the  church  deeply  in  debt,  but  during  his 
pastorate  this  has  been  paid  and  mission  churches  have 
been  established  in  Stockbridge  and  West  Stockbridge. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  number  of  marriages  and  bap- 
tisms in  the  congregation  worshiping  at  St.  Mary's  is  far 
greater  than  in  any  other,  and  probably  larger  than  in  all 
the  others.  This  speaks  well  for  the  industry  and  purity 
of  our  Catholic  population.  The  number  of  marriages  sol- 
emnized at  St.  Mary's  in  the  20  years  since  it  was  opened 
for  religious  services,  is  469,  and  the  number  of  baptisms 
in  the  same  time  is  2,471. 

St.  Mary's  is  the  largest  church  edifice  in  town,  and  the 
attendance  there  is  probably  larger  than  at  all  the  other 
churches.  The  work  of  the  pastor  is  so  arduous  that  for 
some  years  he  has  had  an  assistant. 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 

The  first  public  school  was  established  in  Lee,  April, 
1784.  The  town  then  voted  "to  raise  £40  the  present 
year  to  be  laid  out  in  schooling,  and  to  choose  a  commit- 
tee to  divide  the  town  into  districts  for  schooling."  This 
committee  consisted  of  Joshua  Wells,  Amos  Mansfield, 
Deacon  Jesse  Bradley,  Deacon  Oliver  West,  Simon  Call, 
Lemuel  Crocker,  Elisha  Crocker.  The  rate  was  fixed  at 
38s.  on  the  £100.  "  Voted  to  accept  report  of  committee 
on  school  districts,  and  that  every  district  draw  money  to 
pay  for  the  schooling  according  to  the  ratable  estates."  It 
would  seem  that  four  districts  were  at  first  established, 
though  the  town  chose  five  men  as  agents — Capt.  Thomas 
Crocker,  Capt.  David  Porter,  Lieutenant  Church,  Esquire 
Jenkins  and  Ozias  Strong.  1785,  May  9,  £40  raised,  but 
the  plan  of  dividing  the  town  into  districts  with  the  money 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  253 

divided  also,  was  rejected.  1786,  the  town  refused  to 
raise  any  money  for  schools.  1791,  £40  were  to  be  dis- 
tributed according  to  number  of  children  between  4  and 
14  years  of  age.  The  Committee  to  take  the  number. 
1792,  £40  to  be  divided  according  to  amount  of  taxes  in 
each  district.  1793,  £20  additional.  1794,  £40  voted, 
to  be  divided  according  to  the  number  of  scholars.  The 
agents  this  year  were  John  Nye,  north-east  district; 
Aaron  Benedict,  south-east ;  Captain  Dillingham,  Cen- 
ter ;  Captain  Garfield,  south-west ;  Captain  Gale,  north- 
west. 

The  town  was  at  first  (1785)  divided  into  four  districts. 
The  first  embraced  all  included  south  of  the  roads  running 
from  the  Park  to  Stockbridge  and  Tyringham,  taking  in 
the  families  of  James  Gardner,  Reuben  Pixley,  'Squire 
Ingersoll,  Jeremy  Warner  and  others,  but  excluding  Mr. 
Ebenezer  Swift.  The  second  embraced  all  that  were  left 
upon  the  west  side  of  the  river  except  Ashbel  Lee  and 
James  Penoyer.  The  third  included  all  east  of  the  river 
not  included  in  the  first  as  far  east  as  Freeman's  and 
Stanley's,  and  so  on  to  the  northern  line.  The  fourth 
included  all  that  were  left  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town. 
The  four  districts  were  sub-divided  till  there  were  twelve 
in  all. 

By  the  State  law  of  1789,  June  25,  no  master  or  mis- 
tress was  allowed  to  keep  school  without  a  certificate  from 
the  Selectmen  or  School  Committee,  and  the  minister,  if 
any  there  be,  of  the  town.  Dr.  Hyde  used  to  examine 
the  teachers,  and  for  many  years  gave  them  all  the  in- 
struction they  ever  had  in  grammar.  Not  till  1814, 
March  7,  do  we  find  a  committee  appointed  to  inspect 
schools  with  Rev.  Dr.  Hyde.  This  first  visiting  committee 
consisted  of  Nathaniel  Bassett,  Dr.  H.  Bartlett,  Hon.  Jo- 
seph Whiton,  Rollin  C.  Dewey,  John  Winegar.  After 
this  time  such  a  committee  was  annually  appointed. 


254  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

The  money  appropriated  has  varied  from  time  to  time, 
according  to  the  wishes  and  circumstances  of  the  com- 
munity. In  ]  795,  £40  was  the  appropriation  to  be  di- 
vided according  to  the  valuation.  This  was  exclusive  of 
the  Hopland  district,  which,  in  1791,  was  incorporated  so 
as  to  hold  funds  and  manage  schools  in  that  section  of  the 
town  separately :  1797,  $150  ;  1799,  $225;  1801,  $150; 
1804,  $200;  1818,  $300. 

These  figures  indicate  the  irregular  and  yet  progressive 
rate  of  expenditure  for  this  most  important  object.  The 
method  of  distribution  has  been  as  variable  as  the  amount 
of  expenditure.  At  first,  the  appropriation  was  allotted 
to  each  district  according  to  its  valuation  list;  and  after- 
wards, partly  by  valuation,  partly  by  the  number  of  schol- 
ars ;  then  each  school  had  the  same  fixed  sum,  and  the 
remainder  was  allotted  according  to  the  size  of  the 
school. 

The  number  of  the  districts  has  varied  as  the  popula- 
tion has  increased  or  changed.  In  1801,  October  19, 
Cape  street  was  set  off  as  a  district.  In  1806,  a  commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  divide  the  school  district  in  the 
north  part  of  the  town. 

The  practical  operation  of  this  subdivision  of  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  the  town  was  found  to  be  disastrous 
rather  than  beneficial.  The  Legislature  of  1862  required 
each  town  to  vote  whether  the  system  should  be  retained 
or  not.  1869,  March  24,  the  Legislature  abolished  the 
school  districts.  The  building  and  care  of  the  school- 
houses,  and  hiring  of  teachers,  formerly  at  the  expense 
and  under  the  control  of  each  district  separately,  are  now- 
entrusted  to  the  charge  of  the  general  school  committee 
of  the  town.  The  old  records  of  the  several  school  dis- 
tricts have  been  destroyed,  or  were  so  imperfectly  kept 
that  it  is  impossible  now  to  tell  when  each  school-house 
was  built. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  255 

The  present  school-houses  are  a  great  improvement  on 
the  olden  time,  but  some  of  them  are  not  as  good,  nor  as 
well  furnished  as  they  should  be  in  this  wealthy  and  pop- 
ulous community.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  an  equi- 
table and  generous  management  of  the  whole  system  of 
common  school  education  are  by  no  means  small.  The 
old  district  system,  and  the  methods  of  eking  out  the  ap- 
propriation by  "  boarding  round,"  by  furnishing  fire-wood, 
or  by  a  subscription  school,  were  to  be  tolerated  when  no 
better  way  seemed  possible,  but  a  business-like  and  eco- 
nomical management  of  the  whole  system  requires  that 
the  location  and  building  of  the  school-houses,  and  the 
superintendence  of  the  schools,  should  be  a  town  respon- 
sibility. Districts  once  populous  are  now  almost  deserted. 
The  tendency  is  to  settle  around  business  centers,  and 
here  the  school-houses  are  wont  to  be  overstocked,  while 
the  remote  schools  have  not  sufficient  pupils  to  excite  a 
generous  emulation  among  themselves  and  keep  the  en- 
ergies of  the  teacher  up  to  concert  pitch.  Since  the  abo- 
lition of  the  district  system,  all  the  public  schools,  the 
Hopland  district  excepted,  are  taught  the  same  length  oi 
time,  and  all  the  children  of  the  town,  so  far  as  is  possi- 
ble, receive  equal  advantages  for  an  education. 

The  whole  genius  and  tendency  of  the  Massachusetts 
system  of  public  instruction  has  been  to  furnish  the  best 
possible  training  for  all  the  youth  in  the  State.  The  bare 
rudiments  of  education  have  not  been  deemed  all-suffi- 
cient, but  as  the  ability  and  circumstances  of  each  town 
warranted  the  increased  expenditure,  the  needful  facili- 
ties for  higher  education  have  been  required.  In  1851  a 
special  committee  was  appointed  by  the  town  to  report 
on  the  advisability  of  establishing  a  Grammar  School  of 
higher  grade,  and  then  came  up  the  question  of  establish- 
ing a  High  School,  as  required  by  law,  in  every  commu- 
nity numbering  500  families. 


256  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

THE    LEE    ACADEMY. 

This  brief  summary  of  the  educational  history  of  the 
town  would  not  be  complete  without  giving  prominence 
to  the  establishment  of  the  Lee  Academy,  which  was 
afterwards  merged  in  the  High  School.  In  the  Spring 
of  1835,  Alexander  Hyde  then  a  recent  graduate  of  Wil- 
liams College,  was  induced  by  the  friends  of  education  in 
Lee,  prominent  among  whom  were  William  Porter,  Sam- 
uel A.  Hulbert,  and  Walter  Lafiin,  to  open  a  select  school 
in  the  upper  room  of  the  Center  school-house.  This  he 
did  and  continued  teaching  there  for  two  years,  attracting 
to  his  school  some  pupils  from  other  places.  He  then 
left  it  to  open  a  boarding-school  at  his  own  residence, 
but  a  public  school  of  a  high  grade  was  now  felt  to  be  a 
necessity,  and  a  meeting  of  the  friends  of  education  was 
called  in  February,  1837,  at  which  William  Porter  pre- 
sented a  plan  for  the  organization  of  the  Lee  Academy 
Association.  This  was  a  stock  company,  the  shares 
reckoned  at  $25.  and  each  share  entitling  the  owner  to  a 
vote.  Seventy-five  persons  took  stock  in  this  company 
and  committees  were  appointed  to  procure  a  site  and 
plans  for  the  Academy  building.  The  committee  on  a 
site,  reported  the  one  on  which  the  High  School  now 
stands,  but  the  title  to  the  land  was  in  dispute  between 
the  American  Bible  Society,  (to  which  it  had  been  willed 
by  Mrs.  Tammy  Adams,)  and  her  heirs.  The  association 
purchased  a  quit-claim  deed  from  the  heirs  and  proceeded 
to  build.  The  courts  afterwards  decided  that  the  title 
was  equitable  in  the  Bible  Society,  but  this  Society 
freely  relinquished  all  claim  to  so  much  of  the  Adams 
estate  as  was  occupied  by  the  Methodist  Church  and  the 
Academy,  in  consideration  of  the  buildings  being  occu- 
pied for  the  cause  of  religion  and  education. 

The  Academy  building  was  completed  in  the  Summer  of 
1837,  and  was  formally  dedicated  Oct.  10,  by  an  address 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  257 

from  I.  W.  Andrews,  who  had  been  selected  as  principal 
of  the  school,  at  a  salary  of  $400  and  his  board.  With 
him  was  associated  as  assistant  teacher,  Miss  Jerusha  L. 
Perry.  This  school  was  conducted  with  varying  success 
on  its  original  plan  as  an  academy,  charging  tuition  for 
all  pupils,  both  from  the  town  and  abroad,  till  1851,  when 
after  a  long  struggle  the  High  School  was  established  and 
the  building  was  leased  to  the  town  for  a  free  public 
school.  For  a  more  minute  history  of  the  Academy,  its 
teachers  and  results,  see  Prof.  Barlow's  address  at  the 
Reunion  of  the  pupils  at  the  time  of  the  Town  Cen- 
tennial. 

THE    LEE    HIGH    SCHOOL. 

Prof.  Barlow,  has  given  so  full  an  account  of  the  High 
School  in  his  address,  that  the  following  brief  summary 
must  suffice  for  this  history,  giving  some  points  on  which 
he  did  not  dwell.  The  town  had  for  some  years  con- 
tained the  number  of  families  (500)  which  the  statute 
required  for  the  establishment  of  a  High  School,  but  the 
inhabitants  dwelling  on  the  Hoplands  contended  that  for 
all  school  purposes  they  were  entirely  a  distinct  corpora- 
tion from  the  town,  and  under  no  obligation  to  support  a 
High  School.  There  was  much  wrangling  in  town  meet- 
ing for  a  series  of  years  over  this  question,  and  it  was 
not  till  Samuel  A.  Hulbert  threatened  to  sue  the  town 
for  violation  of  statute,  the  penalty  for  which  was  twice 
the  amount  the  town  ever  raised  in  one  year  for  school 
purposes,  that  the  matter  was  referred  to  two  eminent 
jurists,  Messrs.  Dewey  of  Williamstown,  and  Sumner  of 
Gt.  Barrington.  These  gentlemen,  after  a  thorough  in- 
vestigation of  the  law  and  the  facts  in  the  case,  decided 
that  the  town  was  liable  to  pay  the  penalty  unless  the 
High  School  was  established,  and  that  the  Hoplands 
were  under  obligation  to  unite  with  the  town  for  its  sup- 
port. Thus  this  long  vexed  question  was  finally  settled, 
33 


258  THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE. 

and  in  April,  1851,  the  Academy  was  converted  into  a 
free  Higli  School,  the  trustees  renting  the  building  to  the 
town  for  this  purpose,  and  the  school  committee  employ- 
ing Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  A.  Hall,  the  former  teachers  of 
the  Academy,  to  continue  their  labors. 

The  Academy  Association  however  was  still  continued, 
and  the  rents  received  from  the  town  were  applied  to  the 
extinguishment  of  the  debt  of  the  corporation,  and  for 
repairs  on  the  building.  This  arrangement  continued 
till  18G4,  when  the  town  school  committee  asked  the 
Academy  stockholders  to  transfer  their  stock  to  the  town 
on  condition  that  the  town  should  continue  to  furnish  a 
free  High  School.  As  no  dividend  had  ever  been  paid 
on  this  stock  and  none  was  ever  expected,  and  as  the 
High  School  was  successfully  fulfilling  the  mission  of  the 
Academy,  most  of  the  stockholders  were  glad  to  trans- 
fer, and  the  town  thus  became  possessed  without  expense, 
of  sixty-four  shares  (a  majority)  of  the  stock,  and  had  a 
controlling  power  over  the  building.  A  few  stockholders 
refused  to  transfer  their  shares,  but  these  have  mostly 
died,  and  in  no  known  instance  has  this  stock  been  ap- 
praised among  their  assets.  The  old  Academy  corporation 
is  still  kept  up,  and  the  records  are  in  the  hands  of  the 
clerk,  Mr.Wm.  J.  Bartlett.  From  these  it  appears,  that  the 
last  meeting  of  the  trustees  was  held  June  20,  1866,  so 
that  practically  the  High  School  building  is  owned  and 
managed  by  the  town.  That  this  school  has  done  this 
community  a  great  service  is  patent  to  all,  and  was 
specially  manifest  at  the  Centennial,  when  so  many  of 
its  graduates  returned  and  acknowledged  their  obligations 
to  their  alma  metier.  An  alumni  association  was  then 
formed,  which  it  is  hoped  will  still  further  extend  the 
success  of  this  institution.  For  a  minute  history  of  the 
High  School  see  Prof.  Barlow's  address. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  259 

THE     SOUTH     LEE     BRANCH     OF     THE    HIGH     SCHOOL. 

At  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  the  High  School 
(1851),  it  was  objected  that  the  citizens  of  South  Lee, 
while  contributing  to  its  support,  lived  too  remotely  to 
be  much  benefited  by  it.  The  town,  appreciating  this 
objection,  voted  to  support  a  branch  High  School  in  South 
Lee,  to  be  taught  each  Winter  as  long  as  the  appropria- 
tion might  last.  Accordingly  a  room  was  hired  in  that 
part  of  the  town,  and  a  Select  School  taught  there  each 
Winter,  generally  for  four  months.  The  attendance  at 
first  was  small,  often  less  than  a  score,  but  of  late  years 
the  number  of  pupils  has  increased,  and  the  school  is 
proving  a  greater  success.  It  is  attracting  some  pupils 
from  Great  Barrington  (Beartown),  and  is  furnishing 
means  for  a  higher  education  to  many  who  otherwise 
would  not  enjoy  them.  The  only  regret  now  is  that  the 
schools  in  this  part  of  the  town  are  not  graded,  so  as  to 
furnish  facilities  for  instruction  of  a  higher  order  through 
the  entire  year. 

THE    GRAMMAR    SCHOOL. 

The  history  of  the  Lee  Grammar  School  is  a  short  one, 
for  it  was  established  in  the  Spring  of  1876,  and  is  not 
yet  two  years  old.  It  is  noticeable  that  there  was  the 
same  opposition  to  the  establishment  of  this  institution 
that  so  long  hindered  the  town  from  having  a  High 
School.  For  years,  the  school  committee  brought  the 
subject  before  the  town  and  urged  its  necessity  from  the 
crowded  condition  of  the  Common  and  High  Schools,  and 
in  consideration  of  the  numbers  that  never  attained  to 
the  High  School,  but  who  ought  to  have  better  advantages 
for  education  than  the  common  schools  generally  fur- 
nished. The  Hoplands  uniformly  opposed  the  project,  and 
as  the  law  did  not  require  the  town  to  support  such  a 
school  it  was  defeated  year  after  year,  till,  finally,  the  town 


260  TI1E    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

voted  in  1876  to  establish  a  Grammar  School  separately 
from  the  Hoplancls,  and  appropriated  a  thousand  dollars  for 
fitting  up  the  upper  room  of  the  High  School  building  for 
this  purpose  and  for  the  pay  of  the  teacher.  The  room 
was  new  floored,  furrowed  out,  plastered  and  furnished  with 
the  best  school  furniture,  for  less  than  $500,  and  is  decid- 
edly the  most  commodious  and  pleasant  school-room  in 
town.  The  committee  were  fortunate  in  procuring  the 
services  of  Mr.  S.  V.  Halsey,  a  graduate  of  the  High  School, 
who  had  proved  himself  a  thorough  teacher  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  and  six  weeks  had  not  elapsed  after  the 
town  had  made  the  appropriation  before  he  opened  his 
school.  The  Grammar  School  promises  to  be  a  permanent 
and  beneficial  institution  in  the  town. 

THE  HORLAND  SCHOOL  CORPORATION. 

The  town  of  Great  Barrington  1770,  January  22,  voted 
that  the  settlers  in  the  Hopland  division  should  have  the 
proceeds  of  the  sales  of  land  set  apart  in  that  section  for 
schooling.'  1782,  March  18,  on  the  Lee  records  is  the 
vote  that  the  town  will  "  take  care  of  the  school  lands." 
March  28  we  read  "  the  above  land  is  voted  to  that  part 
of  the  inhabitants  belonging  to  the  said  Hoplands." 

1790,  May  31,  the  town  voted  that  they  had  no  objec- 
tion to  the  desire  of  the  people  of  Hopland  to  be  incor- 
porated into  a  society  for  supporting  schools.  The  Hop- 
land  district  was  incorporated  March  7,  1791.  An  Ex- 
planatory Act  w7as  passed  1797,  March  11,  forbidding 
town  assessments  for  school  purposes  on  Hopland  resi- 
dents. Still  further  powers  seem  to  have  been  needed, 
and  1798,  June  19,  it  was  enacted  that  if  the  fund  be  in- 
sufficient, the  Hopland  district  should  have  authority  to 
levy  taxes  for  such  additional  sums  as  might  be  needed 
and  voted.  In  1830,  February  12,  authority  was  given 
to  divide  the  territory  into  school  districts.     The  Hopland 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  261 

fund,  now  amounting  to  $1,600,  with  an  income  of  $96, 
is  still  held  separate,  and  managed  by  the  Hoplancl  peo- 
ple. A  proposition  was  made,  1808,  March  7,  for  the 
first  time,  and  repeatedly  since,  that  the  town  should 
raise  an  equal  amount,  and  that  thereafter  the  schools  and 
school-houses  in  the  Hoplands  should  be  under  the  man- 
agement of  the  town  committee  in  the  same  way  as  are 
the  other  public  schools,  but  the  proposition  has  never 
met  with  favor  by  the  Hopland  corporation,  and  the  anom- 
aly remains  of  a  town  being  divided  against  itself  by  arbi- 
trary lines  on  the  vital  point  of  education.  The  district 
system  is  by  sufferance  still  retained  on  the  Hoplands, 
though  abolished  by  the  general  statute  of  1869.  Within 
the  limits  of  this  corporation  are  six  districts,  in  which 
agents  are  appointed  to  hire  the  teachers  and  take  care  of 
the  school  property,  but  the  Town  Committee  examine 
the  teachers  and  have  a  general  superintendence  of  the 
schools. 

administrative:  roads  and  bridges. 

The  laying  out  of  roads  was  a  frequent  item  of  busi- 
ness transacted  at  the  annual  and  special  town  meetings. 
The  era  of  road  making  seems  to  have  been  about  1780. 
Many  of  the  first  settlers  built  their  houses  simply  with 
reference  to  a  convenient  location  for  work  on  the  land 
they  had  purchased.  As  the  thoroughfares  for  common 
travel  took  direction,  some  of  these  original  locations 
were  found  to  be  very  far  one  side  from  the  generally 
traveled  ways.  The  town  at  first  had  not  been  very  ex- 
acting in  regard  to  the  location  of  the  roads,  but  laid  out 
a  highway  wherever  a  family  needed  some  such  connec- 
tion with  the  outer  world. 

The  first  road  or  path  from  Springfield  on  the  Connec- 
ticut to  the  Housatonic  townships,  was  that  used  by 
General  Amherst  and  his  army  in  1759,  on  his  way  from 
Boston  to  Albany.     For  many  years  after  the  Revolution 


262  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

this  was  known  as  the  Great  Road  from  Boston  to  Al- 
bany, and  was  the  only  road  between  those  places  that 
crossed  the  County  of  Berkshire.  It  passed  through  the 
towns  of  Blandford,  Otis,  Sandisfield,  Tyringham,  Great 
Barrington,  and  so  on  up  to  Albany.  Burgoyne's  army, 
after  the  surrender  at  Stillwater,  1777,  Oct.  17,  passed 
over  this  road  on  their  way  to  Boston,  and  spent  one 
night  in  Tyringham.  The  turnpike  from  the  Connecti- 
cut line  through  Otis,  Becket,  Lee,  Lenox,  and  so  on  to  the 
New  York  line,  was  granted  in  1800.  It  was  considered 
so  important  an  event  that  Dr.  Hyde  preached  a  sermon 
on  the  occasion  of  its  opening.  It  was  given  up  as  a 
turnpike  in  1820,  from  Whiton's  Furnace  in  Lee  to  the 
line  of  New  York. 

It  was  ordered  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  1752, 
January  25,  "  that  Elisha  Hawley,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  Stockbridge  Indians,  look  out  and  mark  out  a  horse 
road  from  Northampton  to  the  Westerly  part  of  the 
Government."  Massachusetts  Archives  46  :  324,  1753, 
December  4,  mention  is  made  of  a  road  lately  cut  from 
Northampton  to  Albany. 

The  road  to  Lee  branched  off  from  the  Great  Road 
above  named,  passed  over  the  ledges  known  as  the 
Becket  Stairs,  and  so  on  into  the  territory  of  Lee.  It 
was  at  first  a  rough  bridle  or  cart  path,  rougher  than 
the  wood  roads  of  the  present  day  through  the  timber 
land. 

Various  roads,  previously  traveled,  were  accepted,  1780, 
March  29,  but  as  early  as  1783,  March  3,  it  was  voted  to 
discontinue  several  of  the  roads.  In  those  days,  it  would 
seem  that  every  one  built  his  house  where  it  seemed  to 
him  most  convenient  in  carrying  on  his  farm.  Then  he 
expected  that  the  town  would  establish  and  maintain  a 
road  to  his  door.  It  is  no  wonder  that  in  a  very  few 
years  it  was  found  necessary  to  abandon  as  needless,  or 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  263 

too  burdensome,  such  an  endless  variety  of  roads,  lanes, 
highways  and  pent  roads. 

The  surveyor  would  not  now  be  considered  "  a  skillful 
artist,"  as  the  phrase  was  in  those  days,  who,  in  locating 
a  public  road,  should  not  give  courses  and  distances,  but 
such  loose,  general  directions  as  "  past  Ben  Smith's  po- 
tato hole,"  coining  into  "  the  old  road  leading  through 
Dogtown."  The  first  road  located  by  accurate  measure- 
ment, is  the  Stockbridge  road,  leading  past  Mr.  Hyde's, 
altered  at  that  point  in  1807. 

REPAIRING    HIGHWAYS. 

In  1789,  the  town  voted  that  the  whole  territory  should 
be  divided  into  four  districts  for  repairing  highways,  and 
that  a  surveyor  should  be  appointed  in  each  district  to 
superintend  repairs. 

<£150  voted  for  repairing  roads. 

4s.  a  day  allowed  for  labor  till  October  1st,  after  that, 
2s.  6d.,  and  the  same  for  team  and  plow  or  cart.  Boys 
not  16  years  old  not  allowed  wages  on  the  highway. 

1799,  $500  voted  for  highways. 

1802,  voted  to  buy  9  scrapers,  one  for  each  highway 
district. 

1804,  Selectmen  to  attend  to  all  roads  having  no  regu- 
lar record,  make  a  survey  and  such  alterations  as  they 
think  proper. 

$1,000  to  repair;  1805,  $800;  1823,  $800  and  $50.0 
to  repair  bridges. 

1862,  authority  to  Selectmen  to  keep  walks  in  village 
clear  of  snow. 

1868,  April  6,  $1,305.56  were  paid  for  macadamizing 
Water  street  road. 

$800  appropriated  to  macadamize  Main  street. 

1869,  not  to  remove  earth  for  repairs  of  roads,  except 
in  emergency,  after  September  30th. 


264  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

For  many  years  past,  the  care  of  the  roads  has  been  in 
the  hands  of  the  Selectmen,  who  have  employed  a  com- 
petent person  to  superintend  the  repairs. 

TURNPIKES. 

From  1787  to  1805,  there  was  a  mania  for  building 
turnpikes,  similar  to  the  railroad  mania  of  later  years. 
Turnpikes  were  everywhere,  and  the  taxation  of  trans- 
portation was  universal,  but  that  transportation  tax  was 
not  for  many  years  felt  to  be  a  grievance.  These  roads 
greatly  facilitated  access  to  markets,  and  in  the  same  de- 
gree increased  the  value  of  real  estate  on  every  route 
through  which  they  passed.  It  is  but  a  few  years  since 
the  towns  took  them  out  of  the  hands  of  their  proprie- 
tors, and  assumed  their  support  at  the  public  charge. 

The  Tenth  Massachusetts  or  Farmington  River  Turn- 
pike Corporation,  was  established  1800,  June  16.  The 
road  began  at  the  point  where  the  Farmington  river 
crosses  the  line  between  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut, 
and  thence  passed  through  Sandisfield,  Bethlehem,  now  a 
part  of  Otis,  Becket  and  Lee  to  Lenox  Court  House; 
thence,  over  the  mountain  through  Richmond  and  Han- 
cock, to  the  New  York  State  Line.  The  Tyringham  and 
Lee  Corporation,  established  1805,  March  15.  connected 
points  in  these  two  adjoining  towns. 

In  1805,  the  town  appointed  a  Committee  to  wait  on  a 
Committee  appointed  by  the  General  Court  to  explore  a 
route  for  a  turnpike  through  this  town — to  show  a  better 
route  than  the  one  contemplated,  but  to  remonstrate 
against  any  turnpike  through  the  town.  The  remon- 
strance did  not  avail,  for  the  Housatonic  Turnpike,  from 
Whiton's  furnace  at  East  Lee,  through  Stockbridgc  and 
West  Stockbridge,  was  granted  in  1806. 

1813,  turnpike  granted  to  Joseph  Bradley's. 

1824,  turnpike  from  Lee  to  Sandisfield. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  265 

1855,  the  Tenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  was  laid  out 
as  a  county  road. 

The  mania  for  turnpikes  has  entirely  passed  away. 
They  doubtless  did  service  in  their  day,  opening  high- 
ways by  means  of  corporations,  when  the  towns  were  too 
poor  to  incur  the  expense.  The  impression  was  also 
prevalent  that  corporations,  taking  toll  from  travelers, 
would  keep  their  roads  in  better  repair  than  the  towns 
would,  and  this,  for  half  a  century  after  the  settlement 
of  this  country,  was  probably  the  fact.  Toll-gates,  how- 
ever, became  in  the  course  of  time,  a  great  nuisance,  and 
one  turnpike  after  another  was  given  up  till  all  were 
abandoned,  and  the  towns  assumed  the  entire  responsi- 
bility of  the  roads.  Some  old  fogies  predicted  that  the 
highways  would  degenerate  under  town  supervision,  but 
their  prophecy  has  not  been  fulfilled.  The  roads  have 
steadily  improved  since  turnpikes  were  abolished,  and 
more  especially  since  the  making  and  repairing  of  them 
has  been  entrusted  to  some  skillful  roadmaker.  When 
the  custom  was  to  allow  every  man  "  to  work  out  his 
road  tax,"  the  roads  had  a  very  botched-up  look.  Turfs 
and  stones  disfigured  them,  and  mud  impeded  travel. 
The  material  for  road  repairing  was  quite  uniformly 
taken  from  the  side  ditches,  and  was  more  fit  for  the 
dung-hill  than  for  a  road-bed.  Now,  gravel  is  commonly 
used  for  road-repairing,  and  never  were  the  roads  of  the 
town  in  so  good  condition  as  in  this  Centennial  year. 

The  improvement  in  bridges  has  been  as  great  as  in 
the  roads.  The  first  bridges  were  mere  foot-paths,  often 
made  by  falling  a  tree  across  the  stream.  Horses  and 
vehicles  were  expected  to  ford  the  streams.  The  first 
bridges  were  rude  structures  with  log  abutments  and 
piers,  on  which  were  stretched  huge  hemlock  logs  hewn 
on  one  side  so  as  to  furnish  a  level  surface  for  the 
plank-floor.  These  bridges  were  short  lived,  and  needed 
34 


266  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

constant  repairs.  Stone  abutments  and  piers  were  early 
substituted  for  those  built  up  of  logs,  cob-house  fashion, 
but  it  was  not  till  the  first  half  century  of  the  town  was 
completed  that  the  principle  of  the  arch  was  applied  to  the 
building  of  bridges  in  this  town.  The  first  truss  bridge 
was  built  across  the  Housatonic,  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
village,  at  what  was  then  called  "  The  Huddle.  It  was  a 
poor  affair  compared  with  modern  structures,  but  did  not 
shake  with  every  passing  vehicle  as  did  the  old  bridges, 
whose  stringers  were  unsupported.  The  first  iron  bridge 
in  town  was  built  over  the  Housatonic  on  West  Park 
street  in  1876,  and  is  a  very  substantial  and  handsome 
structure.  The  cost  of  this  bridge  ($3,700)  was  partly 
defrayed  by  individuals. 

THE    PITTSFIELD    AND    STOCKBRIDGE    RAILROAD. 

The  Housatonic  Railroad  had  been  running  several 
years  to  Van  Deusenville  and  State  Line,  before  what  is 
now  the  main  line  of  the  road  from  Housatonic  to  Pitts- 
field  was  constructed.  The  extension  from  Canaan,  the 
original  terminus,  to  State  line,  was  built  in  1848.  The 
project  of  a  railroad  through  Lee  was  pushed  with  great 
energy  by  Samuel  A.  Hulbert,  and  others.  The  company, 
which  built  the  road,  was  incorporated  in  1848,  and  on 
the  first  of  January,  1850,  the  road  was  opened.  It  is 
22  miles  long,  and  cost  $440,000.  It  is  operated  by  the 
Housatonic  Railroad  Company,  which  pays  for  its  perpet- 
ual lease  a  rental  of  seven  per  cent,  on  the  cost. 

The  opening  of  this  road  gave  a  great  impulse  to  the 
business  of  Lee.  It  enabled  the  manufacturers  to  trans- 
port their  raw  material  and  manufactured  goods,  not  only 
at  much  less  expense  but  in  much  less  time  and  with 
more  certainty.  Before  the  construction  of  the  Housa- 
tonic road,  a  journey  from  Lee  to  New  York  was  a 
tedious  affair,  especially  in  the  Winter,  when  the  Hudson 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  267 

river  was  closed  by  ice.  The  route  was  commonly  via. 
Hudson  City  and  thence  down  the  river  by  steamboat. 
Before  the  era  of  steamboats,  the  passage  down  the  river 
was  as  uncertain  as  the  wind,  sometimes  occupying  a 
week  or  ten  days.  Goods  and  passengers  were  conveyed 
up  and  down  the  river  by  sloops,  and  between  Hudson 
and  Lee  by  horse-power,  the  farmers  doing  most  of  the 
latter  transportation.  Railroads  revolutionized  all  this ; 
and  though  some  of  the  farmers  thought  and  said  that 
these  roads  would  ruin  the  agriculture  of  the  town,  would 
make  horses  useless  and  oats  worthless  ;  the  result  proved 
just  the  contrary.  Agriculture,  as  well  as  manufactures, 
received  an  impulse ;  real  estate  rose  rapidly ;  farms  im- 
proved, and  the  material  progress  of  the  town  was  never 
so  rapid  as  for  a  few  years  after  the  extension  of  the 
Housatonic  road  to  Pittsfield.  For  this,  the  town  is 
greatly  indebted  to  Hon.  Samuel  A.  Hulbert,  who  threw 
his  mighty  energy  into  the  enterprise  of  constructing  this 
road,  and  carried  it  through,  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  by 
the  force  of  his  will,  and  indomitable  perseverance. 

LEE    AND    NEW    HAVEN    RAILROAD. 

Public  attention  was  early  directed  to  the  feasibility  of 
a  railroad  from  Lee,  up  the  outlet  of  Greenwater  Lake  to 
West  Becket,  thence  down  the  Farmington  river  to  con- 
nect at  the  Connecticut  State  line  with  roads  leading  to 
Hartford  and  New  Haven.  As  early  as  1848,  a  company 
was  incorporated  to  carry  this  enterprise  into  effect. 
The  charter  having  expired  without  any  thing  being  ac- 
complished, it  was  renewed  in  1864,  and  four  years  were 
granted  for  the  construction  of  the  road.  In  1867,  the 
Legislature  extended  the  time  for  construction  to  1870, 
and  in  1868,  a  State  loan  of  $300,000  was  authorized,  on 
certain  conditions,  to  aid  in  its  construction.  In  1869,  at 
a  special  town  meeting,  held  September  8,  Lee  voted  to 


268  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

subscribe  $75,000  to  the  stock  of  this  road,  and  issue 
bonds  in  payment  therefor,  but  no  subscription  was  ever 
made  though  the  vote  was  never  reconsidered.  In  1870, 
fresh  efforts  were  made  to  raise  funds,  and  the  towns  of 
Otis,  Sandisfield  and  Tolland,  subscribed  $105,000  to  its 
stock,  Otis  and  Sandisfield  $40,000  each,  and  Tolland 
$25,000.  In  this  year,  also,  the  time  for  the  construction 
of  the  road  was  extended  to  June  5,  1872,  the  time  in 
which  the  State  scrip  could  be  issued  under  the  Loan 
Act.  The  necessary  funds  were  not  raised  at  this  time, 
and  again  the  Company  went  before  the  Legislature  ask- 
ing an  extension  of  time  for  construction  till  June  5, 
1875,  which  was  granted,  but  nothing  in  the  Act  was  said 
about  the  extension  of  the  State  aid,  the  Chairman  of  the 
Railroad  Committee  saying  that  an  extension  of  time  was 
all  that  was  necessary.  September  20,  1872,  subscrip- 
tions to  the  stock  having  been  made,  sufficient  in  the 
opinion  of  the  directors  to  warrant  it,  a  contract  was 
made  with  J.  B.  Davis  &  Co.,  for  the  construction  of  the 
entire  road  from  Lee  to  the  Connecticut  State  line,  a  dis- 
tance of  25  miles,  for  $600,000.  Work  under  this  con- 
tract was  commenced  November  1,  of  the  same  year,  and 
pushed  vigorously.  In  the  meantime,  some  doubt  having 
arisen  whether  the  Act,  extending  the  time  of  construc- 
tion, continued  also  the  promised  State  aid,  a  bill  was  re- 
ported by  the  Railway  Committee,  and  passed  in  both 
Houses  in  1873,  revising  and  extending  the  Loan  Act  of 
1870.  This  bill  was  vetoed  by  the  Governor,  May  16, 
1873.  Strenuous  effort  was  made  to  pass  the  bill  over 
the  Governor's  veto,  but  it  failed,  as  also  all  endeavors 
subsequently  to  renew  the  State  Loan.  Work  on  the 
road  ceased  soon  after  the  reception  of  the  news  of  the 
veto,  but  not  till  after  the  contractors  had  expended 
nearly  $100,000,  and  had  been  paid  about  $60,000.  It 
is  still  hoped  that  direct  railroad  communication  between 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  269 

Southern  Berkshire  and  Hartford  and  New  Haven  may 
be  established,  but  there  is  no  immediate  prospect  of  it. 

LEE    AND    HUDSON    RAILROAD. 

At  the  time  of  the  construction  of  the  Boston  and 
Albany  railroad,  a  survey  was  made  by  John  Morgan  of 
Stockbridge,  of  a  route  from  Westfield  via.  Otis,  Becket, 
Lee,  Stockbridge  and  West  Stockbridge  to  the  New  York 
State  line,  which  was  found  to  be  some  13  miles 
shorter  than  the  route  finally  selected  via.  Pittsfield. 
The  hope  has  never  been  given  up  that  the  Boston  and 
Albany  Railroad  Co.  would  at  some  time  shorten  their 
route  by  building  a  road  on  the  line  surveyed  by  Mr. 
Morgan,  and  when  the  Lee  and  New  Haven  road  was 
likely  to  be  built,  a  continuation  of  it  to  West  Stockbridge 
so  as  to  intersect  with  the  Boston  and  Albany  at  the 
State  Line,  was  deemed  highly  desirable.  This  enterprise 
was  favored  by  the  directors  of  the  Boston  and  Albany, 
who  gave  encouragement  that  they  would  take  a  perpet- 
ual lease  of  it  and  put  on  the  rolling  stock.  The  first 
entry  on  the  town  records  with  reference  to  this  road 
occurs  Sept.  28,  1869,  when  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  make  a  cursory  survey  of  a  route  from  Westfield  to 
West  Stockbridge  via.  Lee.  This  Committee  reported 
the  route  fully  as  feasible  as  Mr.  Morgan  had  represented, 
and  in  April,  1871,  the  Lee  and  Hudson  Railroad  Co.  was 
incorporated  for  building  a  road  from  Lee  to  West  Stock- 
bridge,  there  to  connect  with  the  Boston  and  Albany. 
At  a  special  town  meeting  Feb.  15,  1872,  it  was  voted  to 
subscribe  to  as  many  shares  of  the  stock  of  this  company 
as  shall  amount  in  dollars  to  five  per  cent,  of  the  valua- 
tion of  the  town,  as  reported  by  the  assessors  on  the  first 
of  May  of  that  year,  and  to  issue  town  bonds  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  same.  In  pursuance  of  this  vote  a  subscrip- 
tion of  $85,000   was  made.     The  town   of  Stockbridge 


270  TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

also  voted  and  subscribed  $40,000  to  the  stock,  and  in- 
dividuals in  both  towns  took  smaller  amounts,  so  that  the 
directors  felt  encouraged  to  go  on  with  the  enterprise. 
The  road-bed  had  been  pretty  much  completed,  when 
the  general  financial  revulsion  of  1873  occurred,  paralyz- 
ing all  kinds  of  business,  and  especially  diminishing  the 
income  of  railroads.  The  money  of  the  company  had  all 
been  used,  and  the  Boston  and  Albany  Company  declin- 
ing to  aid  the  enterprise,  as  had  been  the  verbal  under- 
standing, the  road  with  all  its  franchises  was  sold  to  pay 
its  debts,  but  not  till  it  had  accomplished  its  purpose  of 
reducing  freights  on  the  Housatonic  road. 

THE    TOWN    POOR. 

In  the  early  settlement  of  the  town,  the  poor  seem  to 
have  been  cared  for  by  their  neighbors  without  much 
concert  of  action.  The  first  record  on  the  town  books 
with  reference  to  the  poor  occurs  Dec.  26,  1785,  when 
the  selectmen  were  instructed  "  to  provide  for  widow 
Hanclee  as  they  think  best."  In  1790  commenced  the 
plan  of  bidding  off  the  keeping  of  the  poor,  vencluing 
them  as  it  was  called,  to  the  lowest  bidder,  though  there 
was  at  this  time  only  one  person,  "  old  Mr.  Howard  who 
was  venduecl."  In  1791  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
investigate  Mercy  Baker's  circumstances,  and  the  select- 
men were  instructed  to  settle  with  Stephen  Toby  for 
keeping  her  the  past  year,  and  to  have  a  fatherly  care 
over  other  poor  persons.  In  1797  four  were  vendued 
to  be  kept  at  Is.  3d.  per  week.  In  1802  the  town 
refused  to  pay  Dr.  Partridge's  bill  ($156.52)  for  doctor- 
ing a  poor  woman.  Overseers  of  the  poor  distinct  from 
the  selectmen  were  first  proposed  in  1816.  The  plan  of 
bidding  off  the  poor  to  anyone  who  would  keep  them  at 
the  lowest  price  was  continued  till  1854,  when  the  pres- 
ent town  farm  was  purchased  of  Rev.  J.   N.   Shaffer,   and 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  271 

a  suitable  person  was  hired  to  work  the  farm,  board  the 
poor,  have  the  care  of  the  cemetry  and  look  after  the 
roads,  bridges,  and  general  interests  of  the  town.  This 
has  proved  a  wise  arrangement  and  a  great  improvement, 
humanely  speaking,  on  the  old  plan  of "  venduing." 

THE    CEMETERY. 

The  burial  of  its  dead  is  one  of  the  first  cares  of  a 
town,  and  accordingly  in  1778,  the  year  after  the  incor- 
poration of  Lee,  the  town  appointed  a  committee  to 
select  and  purchase  a  "  burying  ground."  The  commit- 
tee seem  to  have  taken  due  time  for  deliberation,  for  no 
further  action  was  taken  by  the  town  on  this  subject  till 
the  March  meeting  of  1785,  when  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee recommending  the  purchase  of  100  square  rods  of 
Levi  Nye  for  a  burying  ground  was  accepted.  This  was 
the  eastern  section  of  our  present  cemetery.  Subse- 
quently, in  1804,  one  half  acre  more  was  purchased  of 
"  Deacon  Nj^e,"  for  $20.  In  this  year  also,  the  selectmen 
were  instructed  to  procure  a  pall,  and  a  small  lot,  30 
square  rods,  with  a  right  of  way  to  same  was  purchased 
of  Wm.  Ingersoll  for  a  burying  ground  in  South  Lee. 
In  1854  the  town  purchased  of  Kev.  J.  N.  Shaffer  the 
present  town  farm  and  enlarged  the  cemetery  lot.  The 
vault  at  the  Center  Cemetery  was  built  in  1856,  and  the 
one  at  South  Lee  in  1857.  In  1862  the  selectmen  were 
authorized  to  regulate  the  lots  and  remedy  all  infringe- 
ments by  individuals.  The  first  person  buried  in  the 
cemetery  was  Matty  Handy,  sister  of  the  late  Seth  Handy. 
The  whole  number  deposited  in  the  Center  Cemetery  in 
the  first  century  is  estimated  at  about  4,000,  or  the  pres- 
ent living  population  of  the  town. 

MORALS    OF    THE    EARLY    TIMES. 

It  is  customary  to  refer  to  the  period  of  settlement  as 
one   of   great  purity  in   morals,  but  the   records  of  the 


272  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

church  and  town  do  not  warrant  this  reputation. 
Drunkenness,  theft,  profanity  and  licentiousness,  evi- 
dently prevailed  more  then,  in  proportion  to  the  popula- 
tion, than  now.  Liquors  were  sold  in  the  stores  and 
taverns  without  restraint.  Everybody  drank,  but  all  did 
not  drink  to  excess.  Wines  were  furnished  at  all  wed- 
dings, liquors  at  "  raisings,"  "  bees,"  and  other  public 
gatherings,  and  cider,  as  soon  as  the  apple  orchards  were 
started,  was  a  common  beverage.  When  a  neighbor 
called  in  for  an  evening  visit,  it  was  considered  uncour- 
teous  not  to  bring  forward  a  pitcher  of  cider.  Even  the 
ministers  drank  at  their  gatherings. 

The  records  of  the  church  show  that  the  cases  of  disci- 
pline for  drunkeness  and  licentiousness  were  frequent, 
but  it  should  be  remembered,  in  reference  to  these  that 
discipline  was  strict  in  those  times,  and  that  in  a  sparse 
population  all  violations  of  law  and  order  are  apt  to  be 
known  and  much  talked  about.  The  Sabbath  was  kept 
with  great  strictness,  and  all  traveling  on  this  day,  ex- 
cept for  worship,  was  prohibited.  There  are  records  of 
fines  for  violation  of  the  Sabbath  statute  ranging  from 
$2.00  to  $18.00.  The  penalty  for  profanity  was  less; 
usually  six  shillings. 

As  early  as  1825,  the  temperance  reformation  began 
its  work  here.  About  this  time,  Dr.  Hyde  preached  a 
sermon  on  the  wisdom  of  the  Reehabites  in  their  absti- 
nence from  wine  and  all  intoxicating  drinks.  This  ser- 
mon was  published  and  widely  circulated.  Dr.  Hewitt 
of  Bridgeport,  one  of  the  early  apostles  of  temperance 
was  invited  to  preach  here,  and  did  so  to  a  very  full 
house.  Public  opinion  soon  banished  the  sale  of  liquors 
from  the  stores,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  church  in 
August,  1829,  it  was  voted  to  be  the  duty  of  all  members 
to  abstain  wholly  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  for  the 
sake  of  example.     From  that  day  to  this,  it  appears  from 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  273 

the  records  that  the   town  has  very  uniformly  voted  in 
favor  of  temperance  measures. 

FIRE    DISTRICT. 

With  the  increase  of  buildings,  came  increased  expos- 
ure from  fire.  The  means  at  first  relied  upon  for  protec- 
tion were  the  simplest  possible.  A  long  step  in  advance 
was  taken,  when  in  place  of  precarious  reliance  on  neigh- 
borly sympathy  and  aid,  a  well  organized  fire  company 
volunteered  to  provide  themselves  with  apparatus  for  ex- 
tinguishing fires,  and  to  discipline  themselves  so  as  to  use 
it  most  advantageously.  In  1856,  the  "  Water  Witch"  fire 
engine  was  purchased  by  liberal  individual  subscriptions, 
and  this  engine  and  the  efficient  company  by  which  it 
has  been  manned,  has  done  notable  service  at  various 
fires.  The  "Water  Witch  "  has  ever  been  kept  in  good  re- 
pair, and  the  uniformed  company  is  ready  at  a  moment's 
warning  for  work.  1856,  July  9,  the  town  voted  to  pur- 
chase land  near  N.  Gibbs,  Esq.,  and  build  a  house  for  the 
"  Water  Witch"  engine.  A  commodious  building  was  ac- 
cordingly erected  with  a  hall  in  the  second  story  fitted 
up  for  the  meetings  of  the  company.  At  the  annual 
meeting  in  1859,  the  town  voted  to  establish  a  fire  district, 
in  which  was  included  the  Center,  North  Center  and 
North-west  School  districts.  This  organization  is  kept  up 
with  efficiency.  About  the  time  of  the  purchase  of  the 
"Water  Witch"  engine,  the  "Forest  Engine  Company" 
was  organized  in  Water  street,  and  an  engine  purchased 
by  subscription,  the  town  erecting  a  suitable  building  for 
housing  it.  This  fire  company  has  also  done  good  ser- 
vice, but  its  organization  is  not  so  efficient  as  that  of  the 
"  Water  Witch"  Company,  as  the  latter  is  sustained  by  the 
Fire  District  Corporation. 
35 


274  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

FARMING    AND    FARMERS. 

The  difficulty  of  subduing  the  soil,  and  bringing  the 
wild  lands  into  productive  farms,  was  enhanced  in  the 
time  when  Lee  was  first  settled,  by  the  clumsy  imple- 
ments then  in  use.  The  blacksmith  was  then  one  of 
the  most  useful  members  of  the  community.  Iron  was 
prized  as  highly  as  it  is  now  in  some  of  the  South  Sea 
Islands.  But  the  virgin  soil  yielded  bountifully  to  the 
hand  of  diligence.  Abundant  harvests  of  wheat,  flax, 
Indian  corn,  potatoes  and  hay,  rewarded  patient  labor. 
But  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  the 
imperfect  system  of  husbandry,  that  knew  not  how  to 
make  the  most  of  natural  resources,  had  so  far  reduced 
its  fertility,  and  the  difficulties  of  remunerative  cultiva- 
tion of  rocky  hill-sides  proved  so  great,  that  the  wheat 
lands  of  the  Genesee  Valley,  the  open  prairies,  or  the 
rich  alluvium  of  the  river  bottoms  of  the  far  West,  drew 
heavily  from  the  farming  population  of  this  town. 

There  are  on  each  side  of  the  Housatonic,  extensive 
plains  of  rich  alluvial  land  of  the  first  quality,  easily  tilled 
and  very  productive.  These  lands  vary  in  width  from 
the  narrow  swales  in  the  northern  section  of  the  town  to 
the  wide  interval  lands  of  the  south  part.  The  soil  of  the 
uplands  is  a  loam,  interspersed  with  gravel  and  stones, 
particularly  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  ;  on  the  west  side 
there  is  more  clay.  Ground  gypsum,  one  of  the  first 
special  fertilizers  recommended,  was  used  with  very 
good  effect.  Many  of  the  farmers  have  learned  to  utilize 
various  waste  products  of  the  manufactories  in  the  com- 
post heaps  which  they  use  upon  their  lands.  The  farm- 
ing community  has  been  as  liable,  as  the  mercantile  and 
manufacturing  community,  to  various  manias.  Legisla- 
tion has  been  brought  in  to  give  fictitious  importance  to 
particular  products,  as  in  the  "morus  multicaulis  "  fever, 
when  many  thought  to  grow  suddenly  rich  by  raising  mul- 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  275 

berries  and  silk-worms.  In  1840  the  town  paid  a  bounty 
for  raising  wheat,  but  of  late  years  farmers  have  been 
better  satisfied  with  what  advantages  they  had,  and  studied 
how  most  to  profit  by  them. 

The  Berkshire  Agricultural  Society,  the  oldest  in  the 
United  States,  was  incorporated  1811.  The  farmers  of 
Lee,  since  the  first  cattle  show  at  Pittsfield,  have  been 
connected  with  this  society.  The  Housatonic  Agricultural 
Society  at  Great  Barrington,  was  originated  in  1841, 
though  not  incorporated  till  1848.  Designed  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  residents  of  Southern  Berkshire, 
some  of  the  farmers  of  Lee  have  from  the  very  first  been 
connected  with  it. 

The  soil  of  Lee,  on  an  average,  is  not  so  rich,  nor  so 
well  adapted  to  farming  as  in  the  lower  river  towns  of  the 
county.  But  the  farmers  of  this  town,  owners  of  the  soil, 
eager  for  securing  greater  productiveness,  have  been  dili- 
gent in  the  pursuit  of  agricultural  science  as  well  as  in 
the  accumulation  of  agricultural  wealth.  In  1828,  one- 
fourth  of  the  people  of  the  County  were  engaged  in 
farming.  By  the  census  of  1875,  out  of  a  total  popula- 
tion in  the  town  of  3,900,  only  285  are  given  as  occu- 
pied in  Agriculture.  2,536  acres  in  tillage,  (valued  at 
$206,678,)  85  in  orchards,  woodland  2,873,  unim- 
proved 3,108,  unimprovable  162 ;  total,  8,764  acres,  in  57 
farms,  15,046  acres  are  taxed  ;  466  horses  are  reported, 
44  oxen,  766  cows,  491  sheep,  235  lambs.  Agricultural 
products  are  valued  at  $116,682. 

INDUSTRIAL. 

THE    EARLY    INDUSTRIES    OF    LEE. 

Agriculture  was  the  leading  occupation  of  the  first  set- 
tlers of  the  town,  and  so  continued  for  the  first  half  cen- 
tury.    Mechanics  of  various  kinds  followed  early  in  the 


276  TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

wake  of  farmers,  for  in  those  days  almost  every  hamlet 
had  its  blacksmith,  shoe-maker,  tailor,  carpenter  and  wag- 
on-maker, and  every  considerable  village  was  expected  to 
furnish,  besides  the  above-named,  a  merchant,  a  painter 
and  glazier,  a  hatter,  a  cabinet-maker,  a  cooper,  a  fuller, 
a  watch-maker  and  a  tanner.  The  idea  of  making  cloth 
and  clothing,  boots  and  shoes,  hats,  caps,  etc.,  in  factories, 
had  not  then  been  conceived.  Cotton  fabrics  were  almost 
unknown.  Wool  and  flax  were  spun  and  woven  in 
almost  every  farmer's  family,  and  the  woolen  goods  were 
taken  to  the  fullers  to  be  fulled  and  dressed.  Home- 
made, or  "hum-made,"  as  it  was  called,  was  the  rule  for 
men,  women  and  children.  Many  families  were  almost 
independent  of  mechanics  and  merchants,  the  husband,  be- 
sides attending  to  his  husbandry,  doing  his  own  carpenter- 
ing, cobbling  and  smithing,  and  the  wife, — originally  sig- 
nifying a  weaver, — besides  attending  to  her  ordinary 
household  duties,  "  minding  the  baby,"  etc.,  was  also  a 
spinner,  weaver,  and  seamstress.  Thus  David  Baker,  when 
he  first  came  to  town,  was  a  shoe-maker  as  well  as  a  farmer. 
In  Winter,  when  farming  business  was  not  pressing,  he 
went  around  among  his  neighbors  making  and  mending 
their  boots  and  shoes,  they  furnishing  the  leather,  and 
he  working  for  a  Yankee  sixpence  per  hour,  or  six  shill- 
ings for  a  day's  work  of  twelve  hours. 

The  first  pressing  want  of  a  new  colony  is  lumber  fur 
houses  and  barns,  and  accordingly  one  of  the  first  indus- 
tries of  Lee  was  the  sawing  of  lumber,  for  which  the  for- 
ests and  streams  furnished  abundant  facilities.  The  first 
saw-mills  were  erected  on  the  mountain  streams  that  are 
tributary  to  the  Housatonic,  and  which  at  that  time 
flowed  more  evenly  through  the  year  than  they  have 
since  the  forests  have  been  leveled.  At  one  time  there 
were  half  a  dozen  saw-mills  in  operation  here,  and  lum- 
ber constituted  the  chief  article   of  export,  the   farmers 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  277 

transporting  it  by  horse-power  to  Hudson,  and  bringing 
back  salt,  molasses,  sugar  and  other  groceries,  Santa  Cruz 
and  New  England  rum,  w-e  are  sorry  to  add,  being  in- 
cluded. 

A  grist-mill  wras  another  of  the  wants  of  the  early  set- 
tlers, and  was  early  supplied  by  John  Winegar,  who 
came  here  in  1770,  and  built  a  grist-mill  on  the  Housa- 
tonic,  just  above  the  site  of  the  Columbia  Paper  Mill,  of 
the  Smith  Paper  Co.  Mr.  Winegar  afterwards  built  an- 
other grist-mill  in  Water  street,  on  the  stream  that  comes 
from  Lakes  May  and  Green- Water.  These,  and  the  mills 
afterwards  built  at  the  north-end  of  the  village,  and  at 
South  Lee,  did  custom  work,  almost  without  exception 
taking  a  sixteenth  part  of  the  grist  as  toll  for  grinding. 

Tanning  was  another  of  the  early  industries  of  the 
town.  Every  farmer  expected  to  get  his  hides  and  skins 
tanned,  as  much  as  he  expected  to  take  his  grist  to  mill. 
The  boots  and  shoes  of  the  men  were  mostly  made  from 
cowhide,  and  those  of  the  women  from  calf-skin.  Hence, 
in  after  time,  when  finer  leather  was  introduced,  the 
farmers  were  styled  "  the  cowhide  gentry."  Samuel 
Stanley  was  the  first  tanner  and  currier.  His  establish- 
ment was  at  the  hamlet  called  Dodo;etown,  a  mile  or  more 
east  of  Mr.  John  B.  Freeman's.  Levi  Crittenden  subse- 
quently ran  a  tannery  at  East  Lee,  and  in  the  early  part 
of  the  present  century  there  were  four  tanneries  in  ope- 
ration in  this  town,  one  in  Bradley  street,  and  one  at 
South  Lee.  These  establishments  were  on  a  small  scale, 
doing  mostly  custom  work.  Tanning  was  a  slow  process 
at  that  time,  as  the  hides  were  allowed  to  lie  in  "  the 
liquor"  two  or  three  years.  The  tanner  might  say  with 
the  old  Grecian  painter,  I  tan  a  long  time  and  for  a  long 
time,  for  the  cowhide  boots,  with  a  pair  of  new  taps  and 
possibly  a  cap  or  two,  wrere  expected  to  last  at  least  a 
year,  and  "  turn  the  water  "  all  this  time. 


278  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Before  the  introduction  of  silk  hats  and  cloth  caps,  a 
hatter  was  a  necessary  mechanic  in  every  considerable 
village.  Mr.  Amos  Burchard  was  the  hatter  for  Lee.  His 
shop  stood  on  the  corner  east  of  the  present  residence  of 
Mr.  Caleb  Phinney.  Here  he  made  the  stiff  stove-pipe 
hats  of  those  times  from  fur  and  wool,  feltiug  them  by 
the  tedious  hand-bow  process.  Boys  and  laboring  men 
commonly  wore  wool  hats,  while  older  a*nd  wealthier 
farmers  indulged  in  a  fur  chapeau,  and  the  cocked-up  hat 
was  reserved  for  the  gentry.  Neither  a  tanner's  vat  nor 
a  hatter's  shop,  is  now  to  be  found  in  Lee. 

Another  industry  of  the  olden  time,  now  extinct,  was 
the  manufacture  of  pottery.  This  was  carried  on  at 
South  Lee.  The  clay  was  taken  from  a  bed  near  the 
base  of  Beartown  mountain,  and  was  fitted  only  for  the 
manufacture  of  coarse  articles.  The  clay  is  now  used  for 
the  manufacture  of  brick. 

The  first  iron  works  in  the  town  were  started  by  The- 
ophilus  Mansfield,  at  South  Lee,  then  called  the  Upper 
Hoplands.  Mr.  Mansfield  first  built  the  grist-mill  there, 
and  then,  in  connection  with  John  Keep,  the  bloomer,  and 
Abijah  Merrill,  the  blacksmith,  erected  a  puddling  furnace 
long  known  as  The  Forge.  This  was  a  successful  enter- 
prise, and  long  continued  the  leading  industry  at  South 
Lee.  but  finally  gave  way  to  the  still  more  successful 
business  of  paper-making.  Mr.  Merrill,  one  of  the  lead- 
ers in  this  enterprise,  afterwards  started  the  first  iron- 
works in  Pittsfield. 

This  region,  at  the  time  of  its  settlement,  was  covered 
with  a  dense  forest,  and  tk  clearing  up  "  the  land  was  the 
first  work  of  the  farmers.  The  best  pine  trees,  when 
near  a  saw  mill,  were  reserved  for  lumber,  but  the  beech, 
birch,  maple  and  hemlock  that  constituted  the  bulk  of  the 
forest  trees,  were  felled  in  windrows  and  burned.  The 
value  of  ashes  as  a  fertilizer  was  then  little  understood, 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  279 

and  many  were  gathered  from  these  windrows  and  from 
the  enormous  fire-places,  and  sold  at  a  very  low  figure  for 
the  manufacture  of  potash.  Major  Dillingham,  among 
his  other  enterprises,  was  the  manufacturer  of  potash, 
and  sent  a  horse  and  wagon  around  from  farm  to  farm 
bartering  tea,  spices,  etc.,  for  ashes.  His  leach  tubs  and 
kettles  were  set  up  in  the  rear  of  his  hotel,  the  "  Red 
Lion,"  and  some  of  his  big  kettles  are  still  to  be  found  in 
the  hog-pens  of  the  farmers,  now  used  for  boiling  swill. 
This  industry  ceased  early  in  the  present  century  when 
our  forests  were  more  highly  appreciated  for  lumber  and 
fuel.  It  would  have  been  better  for  the  agriculture  of 
the  town  had  potash  never  been  manufactured  here,  for 
it  does  not  appear  that  the  leached  ashes  were  ever  re- 
turned to  the  farms. 

A  pot-furnace  was  early  established,  and  continued  for 
many  years  at  East  Lee  by  James  Whiton,  who  afterwards 
took  his  sons  into  partnership,  and  finally  went  into  the 
paper  business,  which  seemed  destined  to  swallow  up  all 
other  industries  here.  Mr.  Whiton  is  remembered  as  an 
enterprising  and  enthusiastic  man.  As  an  evidence  of  his 
enthusiasm,  it  is  told  that  he  prophesied  that  Lee  was  to 
become  a  second  Manchester. 

A  cupola  furnace  was  also  built  in  the  early  part  of  this 
century,  by  Mr.  Tarsus  Botsford,  in  the  north-east  part  of 
the  town,  on  a  stream  which  comes  down  from  Washing- 
ton mountain,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  have  done  much 
business. 

In  the  remains  of  old  limekilns  scattered  over  the  town, 
there  is  abundant  evidence  that  limestone,  the  prevailing 
rock  on  the  west  side  of  the  Housatonic,  was  early  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  lime.  It  would  seem  from  the 
multitude  of  these  old  kilns  that  every  farmer,  when 
about  to  erect  a  house,  built  a  kiln  in  which  to  burn  his 
own  lime.     Certainly  they  were  very  temporary  struc- 


280  TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

tures.  The  business  of  burning  lime  is  now  centered  in 
the  large  and  well  constructed  kiln  of  Messrs.  Gross  and 
Stallman,  which  is  a  self-feeder  and  is  run  continually 
night  and  clay,  turning  out  about  100  bushels  of  lime 
each  twenty-four  hours.  The  market  for  this  product  is 
mostly  found  in  the  local  paper  mills. 

Another  of  the  early  industries  which  must  not  be  ig- 
nored, was  the  distillery  business.  To  the  credit  of  the 
town  be  it  said,  that  this  was  never  carried  on  extensively 
here,  though  at  one  time  early  in  the  century  there  were 
two  stills  in  operation,  mainly  for  the  manufacture  of 
cider  brandy.  When  the  temperance  reformation  com- 
menced, about  1825,  they  were  both  abandoned,  and  the 
worm  of  the  still  has  not  been  seen  here  since. 

Two  fulling  mills  were  early  started  in  this  town,  one 
in  Water  street  and  the  other  at  South  Lee.  Nathan 
Dillingham  was  part  proprietor  of  the  one  in  Water  street, 
and  an  amusing  incident  is  told  of  him  in  connection  with 
this  mill,  illustrating  his  shrewdness  and  the  simple  mode 
of  administering  justice  in  those  days.  Some  cloth  was 
stolen  from  the  mill  one  night,  and  in  the  morning,  the 
theft  being  known,  the  neighbors  assembled  together  to  de- 
vise ways  for  detecting  the  thief  and  bringing  him  to  jus- 
tice. Major  Dillingham,  suspecting  one  of  the  company, 
said,  "Who  knows  but  that  the  thief  is  right  here  among  us? 
I  propose  that  we  draw  lots  to  see  who  he  is."  To  this  all 
consented,  partly  in  fun  and  partly  in  earnest,  for  there 
was  a  little  superstition  lurking  in  the  minds  of  the  early 
settlers.  Accordingly  the  major  prepared  some  straws, 
all  of  even  length,  and  proposed  that  the  one  who  drew 
the  longest  straw  should  be  held  as  the  thief.  The  man 
whose  conscience  accused  him  thought  to  avoid  suspicion 
by  shortening  his  straw,  and  when  they  compared  the 
lots  his  short  straw  revealed  his  guilt.  The  major  fasten- 
ing his  sharp  eye  upon  him  said,  "Thou  art   the  man." 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  281 

The  thief  broke  down  and  confessed  his  crime.  With 
the  era  of  woolen  factories  the  fulling  business  disap- 
peared. 

The  war  of  1812  greatly  stimulated  the  manufacture 
of  woolen  goods  in  this  country,  and  two  of  the  young 
men  of  this  town,  Isaac  Ball  and  Lemuel  Bassett,  were 
led  to  form  a  partnership  and  undertake  the  manufacture 
of  satinet.  Under  the  firm  name  of  Ball,  Bassett  &  Co., 
they  built  a  small  mill  on  the  outlet  of  Laurel  Lake, 
near  its  entrance  into  the  Housatonic.  The  business 
prospered  and  they  gradually  enlarged  their  operations. 
In  1828,  they  reported  themselves  as  employing  fourteen 
hands,  using  12,000  lbs.  of  wool  annually,  and  manufac- 
turing 12,000  yards  of  satinet,  1,000  yards  of  broadcloth, 
and  300  yards  of  felting.  In  1819,  another  woolen  fac- 
tory was  started  in  South  Lee,  that  employed  ten  hands. 
This  seems  like  a  small  business  now,  but  in  those  days 
these  factories  were  regarded  as  important,  and  they  cer- 
tainly contributed  not  a  little  to  the  development  of  the 
town.  When  the  large  establishments  of  Lowell  and 
Lawrence  went  into  operation,  the  small  factories  of  the 
country  found  it  impossible  to  compete  successfully  with 
the  capital  and  machinery  there  employed,  and  those  in 
Lee  were  sold  and  converted  into  paper  mills. 

Another  industry  of  no  little  importance  in  the  early 
history  of  the  town,  was  the  manufacture  of  chair-stuff. 
The  forests  abounded  with  large  maple  and  beech  trees, 
which  the  farmers  felled,  sawed,  split  and  shaved  into 
sticks  of  suitable  size  for  chair  legs  and  backs,  and  then 
hauled  them  to  the  shops,  where  they  were  turned  by 
water-power,  and  thence  sent  to  the  large  chair  factories 
in  the  cities,  principally  to  New  York.  Fenner  Foote, 
Joseph  Chapman  and  Robert  Lischman,  early  in  the  pres- 
ent century,  commenced  the  manufacture  of  chair-stuff  in 
Water  street,  and  afterwards  Stephen  Thatcher  and  the 
36 


282  THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE. 

brothers,  Thomas  and  Cornelius  Bassett,  started  a  still 
larger  turning  shop  on  the  Housatonic,  in  the  north  end 
of  the  village,  called  at  that  time  "  the  Huddle."  In  1828, 
there  were  four  turning  shops  in  town,  that  of  Messrs. 
Thatcher  and  Bassett  employing  ten  hands,  paying  an- 
nually $4,000  for  lumber  and  exporting  $8,000  worth  of 
chair-stuff.  These  turning  shops,  like  most  of  the  early 
manufacturing  establishments,  were  finally  merged  into 
paper  mills. 

Mr.  Thatcher  is  still  living  and  is  almost  a  centenarian, 
having  been  born  March  6,  1781.  His  years  and  the 
important  part  he  has  played  in  the  history  of  Lee,  de- 
mand more  than  a  passing  notice.  He  came  with  his 
father,  Deacon  Roland  Thatcher  from  Wareham  to  Lee, 
when  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  The  journey  of  150 
miles,  was  made  in  the  Winter  on  an  ox-sled,  and  occupied 
seventeen  days.  For  three  years  he  worked  on  the  farm 
which  his  father  had  bought  a  little  north-east  of  the  vil- 
lage, now  owned  by  Pliny  M.  Shaylor.  Being  of  an  en- 
terprising turn  of  mind,  farm-life  seemed  tame  to  him, 
and  he  desired  to  become  a  sailor  and  see  the  world. 
The  whaling  business  was  then  coming  into  prominence, 
and  Hudson  was  fitting  out  some  whaling  ships.  Thither 
he  went  at  the  age  of  twenty  with  the  intention  of  be- 
coming a  whaler,  but  not  finding  a  situation  to  suit  him, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  turnpiking,  and  worked  as  a 
common  laborer  on  the  turnpike  then  being  built  between 
Albany  and  Schenectady.  He  followed  this  business  for 
several  seasons,  part  of  the  time  as  overseer,  returning  to 
his  father's  in  Lee  to  spend  the  Winters.  During  the  war 
of  1812,  he  started  the  manufacture  of  wire  here  on  a 
small  scale,  which  he  continued  till  the  competition  from 
England,  rendered  it  no  longer  profitable.  The  manu- 
facture of  chair-stuff  was  his  next  enterprise,  and  this  he 
continued   till  lumber  became  scarce   and   the  style   of 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  283 

chairs  was  changed,  when  he  turned  his  attention  to 
making  paper,  building  a  mill  in  Water  street.  In  con- 
nection with  the  paper  business  he  also  started  the  man- 
ufacture of  paper  bonnets.  The  paper  was  made  thick 
and  of  a  straw  color,  and  was  then  stamped  with  a  large 
copper  plate,  giving  it  an  impression  which  was  a  very 
good  imitation  of  Leghorn  straw.  This  business  had  a 
short  run  but  was  very  profitable  while  it  lasted,  the 
Navarino  bonnets,  as  they  were  called,  sometimes  retail- 
ing for  five  dollars  when  their  actual  cost  was  not  five 
cents.  Mr.  Thatcher  continued  in  the  paper  business  here 
till  1S52,  when  he  sold  out  and  removed  to  Saratoga,  N. 
Y.,  where  he  lives  with  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Jared  Inger- 
soll.  His  mind  is  still  active,  and  it  was  hoped  that  he 
would  be  present  at  the  Centennial,  and  contribute  to 
the  pleasant  reminiscences  of  the  occasion,  but  his  friends 
thought  him  too  feeble  to«undertake  the  journey. 

Among  the  manufacturing  industries  to  which  the  war 
of  1812  gave  an  impulse,  wTas  that  of  cotton  fabrics. 
During  this  war,  a  duck  factory  was  started  in  this  town 
by  Messrs.  Elisha  Foote  and  Ransom  Hinman.  A  large 
building  was  erected  on  Main  street,  opposite  the  block 
now  owned  by  P.  C.  Baird.  For  a  time  the  business 
was  profitable.  It  was  literally  a  manufacturing  estab- 
lishment, for  the  work  was  all  done  by  hand  power.  Of 
course  such  a  factory  could  not  stand  the  competition 
with  England,  which  the  close  of  the  war  brought,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  competition  from  factories  in  our  own 
country  driven  by  water,  and  more  eligibly  located  for 
transportation.  After  the  failure  of  Messrs.  Foote  and 
Hinman,  the  cluck  factory  stood  idle  for  many  years,  and 
was  finally  sawed  in  two  parts,  Mr.  Abner  Taylor  pur- 
chasing one  for  a  cabinet  shop,  and  the  Messrs.  Laflin  the 
other  for  a  store.  The  remains  of  the  old  duck  factory 
may  now  be  seen  in   the   tin  shop   of  Mr.  Chauncy  W. 


284  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Smith,    and    the    cabinet   shop    of  Messrs.    Horton    and 
Taintor. 

In  1817,  Messrs.  Winthrop  and  Walter  Laflin,  and 
Riley  Loomis,  moved  into  town  from  Southwick,  Mass., 
and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  powder  at  the  north 
end  of  the  village,  under  the  firm  name  of  Laflin,  Loomis 
&  Co.  The  Erie  canal  was  at  this  time  in  the  process  of 
construction,  and  the  rock  excavations  in  this  enterprise, 
furnished  so  good  a  market  for  Lee  powder,  that  another 
mill  was  soon  started  near  South  Lee,  on  a  stream  com- 
ing down  from  Beartown  Mountain,  which  has  ever  since 
been  called  Powder-mill  Brook.  Messrs.  Laflin,  Loomis 
&  Co.,  were  men  of  capital  and  enterprise,  and  their  ad- 
vent to  this  town  gave  a  great  impulse  to  its  business. 
The  average  quantity  of  powder  manufactured  by  them 
per  day,  was  25  kegs,  and  as  they  required  but  few 
hands,  and  the  raw  materials,  charcoal,  sulphur  and  salt- 
petre, were  not  expensive,  the  business  proved  lucrative. 
The  explosions  however,  were  frequent,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  life  and  property  was  great.  In  1823,  November 
28,  Mercy  Brown  and  Walter  Quigly,  were  mortally 
burned  by  the  explosion  of  the  mill  of  Messrs.  Laflin, 
Loomis  &  Co.  In  September  of  the  following  year, 
Charles  Targee,  Thomas  I.  Beach  and  Jesse  Sparks,  were 
instantly  killed  by  the  blowing  up  of  the  same  mill, 
while  Edmund  Hinckley  survived  the  explosion  two  days. 
In  December  of  the  same  year,  two  men  were  killed  by 
the  explosion  of  the  mill  in  South  Lee.  The  mill  at  the 
north  end  of  the  village,  was  so  near  to  other  buildings, 
that  the  explosion  in  September,  at  which  time  it  was 
estimated  there  were  five  tons  of  powder  burned — dam- 
aged many  houses  in  the  neighborhood,  and  produced 
consternation  throughout  the  town.  Mr.  Loomis  was  him- 
self near  the  mill  at  the  time  of  the  explosion,  and  came 
very  near  losing  his  life  fi-om  the  falling  timbers.     There 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  285 

was  a  general  protest  against  rebuilding  the  mill 
in  the  same  locality,  and  in  this  opinion  the  proprietors 
coinciding,  this  water  privilege  was  sold  for  the  manu- 
facture of  paper.  The  mill  at  South  Lee  was  operated 
some  years  longer,  but  the  business  was  finally  abandoned 
here  also. 

In  1820,  Messrs.  Samuel  A.  and  Amos  G.  Hulbert, 
brothers  and  partners,  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
carriages  and  sleighs  at  the  north  end  of  the  village. 
These  gentlemen  were  skillful  mechanics,  young,  ener- 
getic and  persevering,  well  adapted  to  supplement  each 
other,  as  Samuel  A.  was  a  blacksmith,  bound  to  strike 
hard  blows,  and  make  even  iron  bend  to  his  strong  will, 
while  Amos  G.  was  a  worker  in  wood,  more  gentle  in  his 
ways,  making  the  wood  to  bend  to  suit  his  taste  by  the 
aid  of  steam  and  steady  pressure.  They  commenced 
on  a  small  scale,  each  with  one  boy  to  assist  him  in  his 
department,  and  had  made  quite  a  number  of  sleighs  and 
wagons  when  their  shop  was  burned.  Insurance  was  not 
customary  in  those  days,  and  they  were  uninsured,  except 
in  the  esteem  of  their  neighbors,  which  they  had  won  to 
a  remarkable  degree  by  their  industry  and  manly  bearing. 
With  the  assistance  of  their  neighbors,  a  new  and  larger 
building  was  soon  erected,  and  their  business  started  off 
with  new  life.  One  apprentice  after  another  was  taken, 
and  so  systematically  was  the  business  managed,  and  so 
thoroughly  were  the  apprentices  trained,  both  mechani- 
cally and  morally,  that  this  carriage  shop  came  to  be  con- 
sidered one  of  the  best  schools  in  town,  and  the  graduates 
from  it  were  regarded  as  having  a  diploma  entitling  them 
to  respect  in  any  community.  Certainly,  with  very  few 
exceptions,  they  proved  to  be  good  mechanics  and  good 
men.  The  carriages  of  the  Messrs.  Hulbert  had  a  high 
reputation  in  all  our  cities,  and  orders  for  them  came 
from    the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.     At  the  time  the 


286  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Housatonic  railroad  was  projected,  the  company  were  em- 
ploying from  thirty  to  forty  hands.  The  energies  of  Mr. 
S.  A  Hulbert  were  now  directed  to  the  construction  of 
the  Stockbridge  and  Pittsfield  road,  a  branch  of  the 
Housatonic,  of  which  he  was  made  president,  and  to  his 
indomitable  energy  and  perserverance,  the  town  is  greatly 
indebted  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  this  enterprise. 
The  road,  however,  ran  directly  through  the  then  exten- 
sive shops  of  the  Messrs.  Hulbert,  necessitating  their  re- 
moval. The  attention  of  the  senior  partner  had  become 
so  much  enlisted  in  other  matters,  that  he  did  not  care  to 
continue  the  carriage  business,  and  the  partnership  was 
accordingly  dissolved,  and  the  business  discontinued. 

In  1828,  Messrs.  Lewis  Beach  and  James  H.  Royce 
came  to  Lee,  and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  carding 
machines  in  Water  street,  under  the  firm  name  of  Beach 
&  Royce.  The  business  prospered  and  in  addition  to  card- 
ing machines,  they  soon  added  the  manufacture  of  other 
woolen  machinery.  In  1832,  this  firm  built  a  stone  cotton 
factory  located  a  few  rods  west  of  their  machine  shop. 
In  this  they  placed  thirty  looms,  and  employed  forty-five 
hands,  manufacturing  about  1,200  yards  of  sheeting  per 
day.  In  1837,  Messrs.  Beach  &  Royce  took  in  Mr.  Ed- 
ward P.  Tanner  as  a  partner  in  the  machine  business,  and 
gave  their  own  attention  principally  to  the  cotton  mill. 
Mr  Tanner  came  to  Lee  in  1835  from  Kinderhook,  a 
thorough  mechanic,  first  taking  the  position  of  a  journey- 
man in  the  machine  shop,  in  two  years  becoming  a 
partner,  and  in  five  years  more  sole  owner  of  this  branch 
of  the  business  of  Messrs.  Beach  &  Royce.  The  latter 
firm  continued  the  manufacture  of  sheetings  till  1850, 
when  they  put  in  some  machinery  for  weaving  seamless 
grain  bags.  The  mill  was  run  on  this  production  till 
1862,  when  Mr.  Beach  left  the  firm,  and  Mr.  Royce  con- 
verted the  factory  into  a  mill  for  the  manufacture  of  pulp 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  287 

from  the  native  white  poplar,  an  article  greatly  in  de- 
mand during  the  war,  taking  the  place  of  rags  in  the 
manufacture  of  news  and  book  papers.  The  inventor  of 
the  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  pulp  from  wood 
demanded  so  great  a  royalty,  that  the  business  was  not 
profitable  when  the  war  closed,  and  rags  were  cheap, 
consequently  its  production  ceased  and  the  mill  has  stood 
idle  for  some  years.  Messrs.  Beach  and  Royce  suffered 
great  vicissitudes  in  the  course  of  their  business  career 
in  this  town,  but  no  one  ever  questioned  their  integrity, 
and  their  memory  is  cherished  for  their  enterprise,  public 
spirit,  and  the  stimulus  which  they  gave  to  the  business 
of  the  place. 

Mr.  Tanner,  after  buying  out  the  machine  business  of 
Messrs.  Beach  &  Royce,  continued  it  alone  till  1848,  when 
he  took  in  Mr.  Timothy  D.  Perkins  as  partner,  and  for  14 
years  the  business  was  conducted  by  the  firm  of  Tanner 
&  Perkins,  both  of  these  gentlemen  being  skillful  and  in- 
dustrious mechanics.  Since  1862,  Mr.  Tanner  has  been 
sole  owner  of  the  machine  shop  and  the  foundry  connected 
with  it.  During  the  war  the  demand  for  machinery 
greatly  increased,  and  prices  were  remunerative.  Of  late 
years  his  son,  James  A.  Tanner,  has  taken  an  active  part 
in  the  management  of  the  business,  and  the  shop  has  an 
enviable  reputation  for  turning  out  the  best  of  paper 
machinery,  for  the  manufacture  of  which  it  is  now  mostly 
devoted.  The  product  of  some  years  has  amounted  to 
$140,000,  and  averages  over  $100,000. 

In  1847,  Messrs.  E.  A.  Royce  and  the  brothers  Charles 
A.  and  John  McLaughlin,  bought  of  Capt.  Zacheus  Win- 
egar  a  good  water  privilege  on  the  outlet  of  Lakes  May 
and  Green-Water,  with  the  grist-mill  and  saw-mill  at- 
tached, and  in  a  part  of  the  grist-mill  building  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  machinery  under  the  firm  name  of  E. 
A.  Royce  &  Co.,  at  the  same  time  continuing  the  business 


288  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

of  grinding  grain  and  sawing  lumber.  The  McLaughlin's 
afterwards  bought  out  Mr.  Royce,  and  finally  the  whole 
business  fell  into  the  hands  of  John  McLaughlin,  who  dis- 
continued the  grist-mill  and  enlarged  his  machine  shop. 
In  1863,  he  built  a  foundry  on  the  site  of  the  old  Wine- 
egar  house,  remarkable  for  being  the  oldest  house  in  town, 
which  he  removed  and  fitted  up  as  a  store-house  for  pat- 
terns. We  are  happy  to  add  that  Mr.  McLaughlin  in- 
tends to  keep  the  old  house  in  good  repair  as  a  relic  of 
the  past.  This  machine  shop  employs  ten  men,  and  turns 
out  machinery  valued  on  the  average  of  years  at  $50,000. 
The  production  of  his  saw-mill  annually,  is  nearly  half  a 
million  feet  of  lumber.  John  McLaughlin  is  one  of  the 
adopted  citizens  of  Lee,  having  been  born  in  Ireland  in 
1818.  He  came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  18,  and  not 
liking  New  York  had  engaged  his  passage  back  to  Ireland, 
but  was  finally  persuaded  by  his  brother  to  visit  Lee, 
which  he  liked  so  well  that  he  went  to  work  in  the  ma- 
chine shop  of  Beach  &  Royce.  By  his  industry,  skill  and 
energy,  he  rose  step  by  step,  till  he  became  proprietor  of 
a  saw-mill,  machine  shop  and  foundry. 

PAPER     MANUFACTORIES. 

The  leading  business  of  the  town  is  the  manufacture  of 
paper,  other  industries,  as  has  been  noticed,  being  swal- 
lowed in  this.  Under  the  old  system  of  manufacturing 
paper  by  hand,  the  rags,  after  being  well  washed,  were 
left  in  tubs  for  a  number  of  days  so  as  to  be  made  more 
tender.  They  were  then  pounded  until  the  fibrous  matter 
became  a  pulp  fine  enough  to  spread  evenly  on  the  wire 
sieve  which  was  used  to  dip  it  up  sheet  by  sheet.  It  took 
20  mortars  to  reduce  100  pounds  of  rags  in  one  day.  In 
other  words,  hand  labor  would  accomplish  only  one-eighth 
of  what  machinery  can  do.  The  engine  with  its  revolv- 
ing cylinder,  fitted  with  plates  of  steel,  will  now  convert 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  289 

250  or  300  pounds  of  rags  into  pulp  in  about  six  hours. 
The  Fourdrinier  machine  with  the  endless  vibratory  wire 
gauze,  was  invented  in  1798  by  Louis  Kobert,  of  Essonne, 
France,  but  improved  by  the  Frenchman  whose  name  it 
bears.  It  was  first  manufactured  in  this  country  about 
1830,  by  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Spofford  of  Windham,  Conn. 
With  the  introduction  of  this  machine  began  the  rapid 
development  of  this  branch  of  industry.  What  once 
took  three  months  to  accomplish,  could  with  machinery 
be  done  in  one  clay.  Other  improvements  followed,  such 
as  the  use  of  chlorine  in  bleaching  colored  rags,  steam  to 
scour  them,  calender  rolls  to  give  the  smooth  surface  re- 
quired for  steel  pens,  the  cylinder  machine  patented  by 
John  Ames  of  Springfield,  in  1822,  the  use  of  various 
fibrous  materials,  etc. 

SAMUEL    CHURCH. 

In  1806,  Samuel  Church  removed  from  East  Hartford, 
Conn.,  to  this  town,  and  immediately  commenced  the 
erection  of  a  paper  mill  at  South  Lee,  where  the  Hurlbut 
Company's  mills  now  stand.  This  was  the  first  paper  mill 
built  in  the  town,  and  among  the  first  built  in  the  county. 
It  was  afterwards  owned  by  Messrs.  Brown  &  Curtis. 
The  work  was  all  done  by  hand.  The  second  mill  was 
built  1819,  by  Luman  Church,  on  the  site  of  the  old  For- 
est mill,  now  owned  by  Hon.  Harrison  Garfield.  In  1808, 
by  the  strong  solicitation  of  gentlemen  living  in  this  part 
of  the  town,  and  the  offer  of  liberal  assistance  in  the  erec- 
tion of  the  building,  Samuel  Church  was  induced  to  set 
up  a  paper  mill  near  the  spot  where  the  Smith  Paper 
Co.'s  Eagle  Mill  now  stands.  The  paper  business  of  the 
town  grew  with  amazing  rapidity.  In  1857,  two  years 
before  the  first  mill  was  built  at  Holyoke,  now  the  lead- 
ing town  in  paper  manufacturing,  there  were  were  25 
mills  in  Lee,  with  an  annual  production  of  $2,000,000. 
7 


290  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

This  was  the  culminating  point  in  the  history  of  the  paper 
business  in  Lee,  so  far  as  the  number  of  mills  indicate  its 
extent  and  importance. 

W.    W.    &    C.    LAFL1N. 

In  the  Summer  of  1826,  Messrs.  Walter,  Winthrop  and 
Cutler  Laflin  built,  where  now  stands  the  Smith  Paper 
Co.'s  Housatonic  Mill,  a  paper  mill  which  was  regarded 
at  that  time  as  a  marvel  of  enterprise.  The  race-way, 
140  rods  above  and  30  rods  below  the  mill,  was  excavated 
in  eight  months'  time.  In  1850,  when  the  property  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Platner  &  Smith,  the  race-way  was  ex- 
tended further  clown  the  river,  below  the  bridge.  Pre- 
vious to  this  time  the  water,  in  freshets,  worked  its  own 
way  across  the  road.  The  main  building  was  100  feet  by 
35,  with  wings  50  by  24,  and  30  by  30.  Its  four  machines 
worked  up  600  to  1,000  pounds  of  rags  daily. 

In  connection  with  this  mill,  another  was  built  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  up  the  river,  at  Crow  Hollow,  with  a 
daily  production  of  24  to  60  reams  of  printing  paper. 
This  mill,  burned  some  years  after  but  rebuilt  by  the 
Laflins,  is  now  known  as  the  Columbia  Mill.  Mr.  Win- 
throp Laflin  was  a  personal  friend  of  Horace  Greeley. 
Calling  upon  him  as  he  was  busy  at  the  press,  Mr.  Gree- 
ley expressed  his  desire  to  issue  a  daily  paper  if  he  could 
procure  the  paper  on  three  months'  credit.  Mr.  Laflin 
offered  to  furnish  it,  and  thus  began  the  publication  of  the 
New  York  Daily  Tribune. 

The  Laflins  also  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  paper 
bonnets,  made  to  resemble  Leghorn  straw  by  passing  the 
paper  through  a  series  of  rollers.  The  business  was  com- 
menced by  Stephen  Thatcher,  but  the  Laflins  were  the 
first  to  introduce  them  into  market  on  a  large  scale. 
Their  shipments  to  the  New  York  house  of  Arthur  Tap- 
pan,  alone,  amounted   to   50   dozen   per  day.     But  there 


RESIDENCE  OF  ELIZUR  SMITH. 


TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  291 

was  so  much  money  in  the  business  that  others  rushed 
into  the  manufacture  of  these  Navarino  bonnets,  and  the 
market  was  quickly  glutted.  The  Laflins  sold  out  their 
business  in  Lee  in  '37,  and  Cutler  Laflin  went  to  New  Or- 
leans as  head  of  the  wholesale  house  of  Laflin,  Stevens 
&  Co. 

WHYTE   &    nULBERT. 

Mr.  Samuel  A.  Hulbert,  born  at  Wethersfield,  Ct.,  No- 
vember 6,  1796,  at  the  age  of  17  went  to  Salisbury,  Ct , 
to  learn  blacksmithing.  He  commenced  business  at  Great 
Barrington,  but  continued  there  only  a  short  time.  In 
March,  1820,  he  started  in  Lee,  with  his  brother  Amos,  a 
carriage  manufactory,  and  built  up  a  large  business.  The 
Stockbridge  and  Pittsfield  Railroad,  a  continuation  through 
Lee  of  the  Housatonic  Railroad,  running  over  the  site  of 
the  carriage  factory,  necessitated  the  removal  of  the  shops, 
and  he  gave  up  the  carriage  business.  With  Alexander 
Whyte,  a  practical  paper-maker,  he  bought  the  Columbia 
Mill.  But  in  1857,  the  firm  succumbed  to  the  financial 
pressure.  Mr.  Hulbert's  sight  and  hearing  had  failed, 
and  he  did  not  again  enter  into  active  business.  He  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  Lee  and  died  here,  1875,  January  16, 
honored  and  respected  for  his  uncompromising  integrity 
and  his  marked  energy.  His  son  Charles  died  soon  after 
(January  25),  born  in  Lee,  March  20,  1824,  from  1842 
to  1851  a  partner  in  the  well-known  dry  goods  firm  of 
Plunkett  &  Hulbert  of  Pittsfield,  and  afterwards  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  James  M.  Beebe  &  Co.  of  Boston. 
Mr.  Whyte,  after  the  failure  of  the  company,  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  paper  at  Richmond,  Va.,  and  died  at 
New  York  in  1873. 

THE  SMITH  PAPER  COMPANY. 

Mr.  Elizur  Smith  was  born  in  Sandisfield,  1812,  Janu- 
ary 5.     When  he  was  16  years  old  he  cut  his  foot,  and 


292  TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

was  confined  to  the  house  for  months.  The  books  he 
read  and  studied  made  him  desirous  of  further  knowledge, 
and  he  went  to  Westfield  Academy  to  pursue  his  studies. 
In  1830,  he  came  to  Lee  as  clerk  for  John  Nye  &  Co.,  at  a 
salary  of  $20  a  year  and  his  board.  In  1834  he  bought  half 
an  interest  of  Ingersoll  &  Platner  in  their  Turkey  Mill 
in  Tyringham.  The  other  partners  carried  on  the  manu- 
facture of  paper  at  the  iEtna  Mill  in  the  village,  located 
just  across  the  stream  from  the  present  Eagle  Mill ;  Mr. 
Smith  took  charge  of  the  Turkey  Mill.  In  1835  he 
bought  out  Mr.  Ingersoll's  interest,  and  thus  began  the 
partnership  of  Platner  &  Smith,  for  over  thirty  years  iden- 
tified with  the  paper  manufacture  of  Lee.  At  first  they 
made  only  fine  papers,  and  for  years  they  had  the  honor 
of  being  the  greatest  paper-makers  in  the  country.  The 
crisis  of  1837  was  safely  weathered  by  the  new  firm, 
which  soon  afterwards  bought  of  J.  &  L.  Church  the 
Union  Mill,  and  of  Luman  Church  the  Enterprise  now 
known  as  the  Eagle  Mill.  At  this  time  the  only  remain- 
ing mill  privilege  in  the  "  Huddle,"  as  the  north  end  of 
the  village  was  then  called,  was  a  turning-shop  for  wood- 
work. This  the  firm  also  bought,  and  on  its  site  built  a 
woolen  mill,  which  however  was  profitable  only  in  excep- 
tional years  In  1850,  they  bought  the  Housatonic  Mill, 
originally  built  by  Laflin  &  Loomis,  and  enlarged  it. 
They  bought  also  Ball  &  Bassett's  satinet  factory  and 
clothier's  shop  on  the  outlet  of  Laurel  Lake,  and  con- 
verted these  into  the  Castle  and  Laurel  Paper  Mills.  In 
connection  with  his  brother,  Mr.  Platner  built  a  large 
mill  in  Ancram,  N.  Y..  and  Mr.  Smith  with  his  brother, 
J.  R.  Smith,  bought  in  Russell  a  paper  mill  in  connection 
with  Cyrus  W.  Field.  These  outside  ventures  did  not 
prove  specially  successful,  and  were  given  up.  In  May, 
1855,  Mr.  Platner  died.  Mr.  Smith  kept  on  with  the 
business  under  the  old  firm  name.     The  war  stimulated 


COLUMBIA  MILL  OF  SMITH  PAPER  CO. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  293 

production  and  brought  great  prosperity.  In  1864,  Mr. 
Smith  took  in  his  two  nephews,  Wellington  and  Dewritt 
S.  Smith,  as  partners,  and  organized  the  Smith  Paper 
Company,  which  is  now  the  leading  manufacturing  com- 
pany of  the  town.  The  capital  originally  was  $220,000, 
and  is  now  $250,000.  The  stock  is  wholly  owned  by  the 
Smiths.  The  four  mills  in  which  they  have  concentrated 
their  paper  machinery,  are  the  Housatonic,  at  the  south 
end  of  the  village,  originally  built  by  the  Laflins;  the 
Eagle,  which  includes  the  old  Union  mill  of  J.  &  L.  Church, 
and  occupies  all  the  water  power  at  the  north  end  of  the 
village;  the  Columbia,  half  a  mile  further  up  the  Housa- 
tonic River ;  and  the  Pleasant  Valley  Mill,  still  further 
up  and  near  the  Lenox  boundary,  originally  built  by* 
Thomas  Sedgwick  &  Co.  The  capacity  of  the  Eagle  and 
Pleasant  Valley  Mills  is  9,000  lbs.  of  paper  each  per  day, 
while  the  Housatonic  turns  out  10,500  lbs.,  and  the  Co- 
lumbia 12,500.  The  Eagle  is  devoted  almost  exclusively 
to  the  production  of  manila  paper,  while  the  other  three 
mills  produce  news  and  book  papers.  The  most  approved 
machinery  is  used  by  the  Smith  Paper  Company,  and 
their  business  is  conducted  with  such  system  and  energy 
as  must  command  success.  Steam  is  used  in  all  their 
mills  to  drive  a  part  of  the  machinery,  and  in  case  of  a 
failure  in  the  water-power,  the  boilers  and  engines  are  of 
sufficient  capacity  to  keep  up  the  average  production. 
The  wheels  of  these  mills  do  not  stop,  night  or  day,  ex- 
cept on  Sunday  and  for  repairs. 

In  1875  this  company  bought  the  factory  formerly 
used  by  the  Lenox  Plate  Glass  Company  for  polishing 
glass,  and  converted  it  into  a  mill  for  the  manufacture  of 
wood  pulp,  a  fibrous  material  made  by  grinding  up  the 
American  poplar,  and  extensively  used  in  combination 
with  rags  for  the  production  of  printing  papers.  The 
capacity  of  this  pulp  mill  is  2,000  lbs.  per  day. 


294  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

In  connection  with  their  paper  mills,  the  Smith  Paper 
Company  also  run  a  first-class  machine  shop,  in  which 
their  repairing  is  done  and  much  of  their  machinery  is 
made.  The  number  of  hands  employed  by  the  company 
in  the  several  departments  of  their  business  is  over  300, 
who  are  paid  regularly  at  the  end  of  each  month,  and 
the  monthly  pay-roll  is  $10,000. 

For  a  few  years  past,  Mr.  Elizur  Smith,  the  founder  of 
the  company,  has  left  the  management  of  the  mills  to 
his  nephews,  Wellington  and  Dewitt,  and  has  given  most 
of  his  time  to  the  conduct  of  his  large  farm.  This  is  lo- 
cated on  the  table-land  just  west  of  Laurel  Lake,  of  which 
beautiful  sheet  of  water  it  commands  fine  views.  In  the 
management  of  his  landed  estate  Mr.  Smith  has  exhibited 
the  same  enterprise  and  system  so  characteristic  of  his 
manufacturing.  Improved  machinery,  thorough-bred 
stock  and  great  crops  attest  his  energy  in  agriculture. 
Much  of  his  land  was  naturally  wet,  and  this  he  has  thor- 
oughly under-drained,  putting  in  over  forty  miles  of  drain 
tile.  The  stones  have  been  removed  and  placed  in  walls, 
the  "  hard  hacks "  and  other  weeds  been  eradicated, 
and  fertilizers  have  been  liberally  applied,  till  his  farm  of 
nearly  600  acres  is  one  of  the  most  productive  in  the 
state.  In  the  meantime  the  mills,  under  the  conduct  of 
the  young  men,  have  been  rendered  more  productive  than 
ever  before.  The  present  product  of  paper  is  about 
twenty  tons  per  day. 

HURLBUT    PAPER    COMPANY. 

In  1822,  Messrs.  Charles  M.  Qwen  and  Thomas  Hurlbut 
came  to  South  Lee  and  began  the  manufacture  of  paper. 
They  employed  four  men  and  six  women,  and  made  ten 
reams  of  letter  paper  a  day.  The  sheets,  made  by  hand, 
were  left  in  a  rough  state,  edges  untrimmed  and  quires 
unstamped.     The  best  qualities  were  hot-pressed,  that  is 


THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE.  295 

partially  smoothed  by  being  pressed  between  hot  iron 
plates.  The  reputation  of  the  firm  for  producing  a 
uniformly  excellent  article  of  paper  was  such  that  the  well- 
known  water-mark  of  0.  &  H.  was  a  guarantee  of  the  qual- 
ity. Their  business  integrity  and  high,  standard  of  work- 
manship gave  a  reputation  to  the  town.  They  spared  no 
expense  to  secure  any  valuable  improvements.  As  their 
means  increased  they  extended  their  business,  purchasing 
of  Messrs.  Brown  and  Curtis,  Church's  Mill ;  then  of  Mr. 
Billings  Brown  his  grist  mill,  which  they  converted  into 
a  paper  mill.  They  also  purchased  the  Forge  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  so  as  to  control  the  whole  wa- 
ter privilege,  and  on  the  site  of  the  Forge  erected  a  flour- 
ing mill.  The  mill  farther  down  the  river,  at  Housatonic, 
was  also  built  by  the  firm.  In  1856,  the  old  firm  was  dis- 
solved, Mr.  Hurlbut  retaining  the  property  at  South  Lee, 
and  Mr.  Owen  the  mill  at  Housatonic.  Both  these  gen- 
tlemen were  born  in  1794,  Mr.  Hurlbut  in  Wethersfield, 
Conn.,  and  Mr.  Owen  in  Windsor,  Conn.  Mr.  Hurlbut 
had  been  part  owner  of  a  paper  mill  in  Suffield,  Conn. 
Mr.  Owen's  business  experience  had  been  acquired  in  a 
country  store.  On  dissolving  partnership,  each  member 
of  the  firm  associated  a  son  with  him  in  the  business, 
which  was  conducted  at  Housatonic  under  the  name  of 
the  Owen  Paper  Company,  and  at  South  Lee  by  the 
Hurlbut  Paper  Company.    . 

Messrs.  Owen  and  Hurlbut  were  no  common  men. 
Their  business  capacity  was  of  the  highest  order.  Com- 
bining prudence,  enterprise  and  strict  integrity,  the  course 
of  the  firm  was  steadily  onward  and  upward.  They  passed 
through  the  commercial  storms  of  1837  and  1857  without 
even  the  shadow  of  a  cloud  resting  upon  their  credit. 
Mr.  Hurlbut  was  a  retiring  man,  finding  his  happiness 
in  his  business  and  family,  and  caring  little  for  honors 
and  offices.     Mr.  Owen  was  more   ambitious,  and  early 


296  TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

acquired  the  title  of  Major  in  the  military  service,  and  rep- 
resented the  town  in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature, 
and  was  also  a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council.  Mr. 
Hurlbut  died  at  his  home  in  South  Lee  in  1861,  beloved 
and  lamented  by  all,  leaving  a  widow,  two  sons  and  three 
daughters,  by  whom  the  stock  of  the  Hurlbut  Paper 
Company  is  mostly  owned.  The  sons  inherit  the  talent 
of  their  father,  and  under  their  management  the  business 
of  the  company  has  prospered  and  greatly  increased.  In 
1872,  they  built  one  of  the  best  paper  mills  in  the  state, 
on  the  site  of  the  old  South  Lee  Forge.  This  mill  is  of 
brick,  with  a  stone  basement,  is  three  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-three feet  long,  fifty  feet  wide,  and  including  the 
basement,  and  attic,  four  stories  high  ;  having  a  capacity 
for  making  8,000  lbs.  of  fine  paper  per  day.  The  whole 
product  of  the  Hurlbut  Paper  Company  per  day  is  10,000 
lbs.,  all  of  fine  quality.  Mr.  Owen  died  at  Stockbridge  in 
1870,  no  children  surviving  him.  The  business  of  the 
Owen  Paper  Company  is  conducted  by  Mr.  Henry  D.  Cone, 
who  married  the  widow  of  Edward  H.,  son  of  Major  Owen. 

HARRISON  GARFIELD  AND  BENTON  BROTHERS. 

Mr.  Garfield,  who  is  a  native  of  Lee,  born  in  1810,  and 
is  now  the  oldest  manufacturer  of  writing  paper  in  the 
country  in  active  business,  began  manufacturing  in  part- 
nership with  Caleb  Benton,  operating  the  old  Forest  Mill. 
Previously,  he  had  been  three  years  in  the  meat  business 
with  Capt.  T.  E.  M.  Bradley.  The  Forest  Mill,  which  was 
built  in  1819  by  Luman  Church  for  the  manufacture  of 
fine  writing  paper,  was  the  third  mill  built  in  town,  and 
the  first  built  on  the  Lake  May  outlet.  Mr.  Church  not 
succeeding  in  the  business,  the  mill  was  run  for  several 
years  by  Joseph  and  Leonard  Church,  and  afterward  by 
James  Whiting  &  Son,  who  sold  to  Jared  Ingersoll  and 
Caleb   Benton.     Mr.   Ingersoll   sold   his    interest    to    his 


PAPER  MILL  OF  HURLBUT  PAPER 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  297 

partner  in  1835,  and  the  firm  of  Benton  and  Garfield  was 
formed  the  following  year.  For  nearly  a  third  of  a  cen- 
tury, these  two  veteran  paper-makers  worked  together  in 
harmony,  building  up  a  large  and  flourishing  business. 
In  184G,  they  built  the  Mountain  Mill,  which  they  ope- 
rated 7  or  8  years,  and  then  sold  to  P.  C.  Baird.  In  '49, 
they  bought  the  Forest  Grove  Mill,  built  in  L83G,  but  idle 
till  '40,  when  Mr.  Joseph  B.  Allen  began  making  coarse 
papers.  In  '54  they  built  the  Greenwood  Mill.  The 
Forest  Mill  was  burned  in  '52,  but  immediately  rebuilt. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Benton  in  1866,  the  business  was 
divided,  Mr.  Benton's  sons,  Charles  G.  and  James  F.  Ben- 
ton, under  the  firm  name  of  Benton  Brothers,  taking  the 
Greenwood  Mill,  and  Mr.  Garfield  retaining  the  Forest 
and  the  Forest  Grove  Mills.  Benton  Brothers  have  one 
of  the  best  mills  in  the  country,  having  an  overshot  wheel 
with  30  feet  fall.  Only  fine  paper  is  made  at  these  mills. 
Mr.  Garfield,  besides  caring  for  his  paper  mills,  is  presi- 
dent of  the  National  and  Savings  banks,  carries  on  a  store, 
is  largely  engaged  in  agriculture,  has  one  of  the  finest 
private  greenhouses  and  graperies  in  the  county,  is  Pres- 
ident of  the  Lee  Library  Association,  and  is  ever  ready 
to  give  personal  and  pecuniary  aid  to  all  deserving  public 
and  charitable  enterprises.  He  has  served  the  town  faith- 
fully as  a  Selectman,  and  represented  her  in  both  houses 
of  the  Legislature. 

THE    NEW    ENGLAND    MILL CIIAFFEE    AND    IIAMBLIN. 

This  mill  was  originally  built  by  Church  and  Brown 
in  1829,  and  under  the  name  of  Waverly  Mill  was  bought 
of  Mr.  Charles  Ballard  in  1855,  by  Messrs.  Chaffee  and 
Hamblin.  Mr.  Prentiss  Chaffee  was  born  in  Becket  in 
1809,  and  was  a  farmer  there  till,  in  connection  with  his 
nephew,  Mr.  W.  H.  Hamblin,  a  native  of  Lee,  born  in 
1832,  he  commenced  this  new  business,  of  which  neither 
38 


295  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

himself  nor  his  partner  had  till  then  any  practical  knowl- 
edge. The  water  privilege  is  one  of  the  best  in  Water 
street,  having  sixteen  feet  fall,  and  the  united  streams 
from  Lake  May  and  Greenwater  Pond  for  supply.  An 
overshot  wheel  drives  three  rag  engines,  converting  1,600 
pounds  of  rags  daily  into  pulp.  The  number  of  hands 
employed  is  24,  and  the  daily  production  1,000  pounds 
flat  cap  paper,  used  mainly  for  blank  and  writing  books. 
Pay  son,  Dunton  &  Scribner's  writing  books  are  made  of 
this  paper.  Messrs.  Chaffee  &  Hamblin  have  built  up  an 
enviable  reputation  for  the  manufacture  of  their  peculiar 
paper,  and  their  success  in  business  attests  their  industry, 
integrity  and  talent. 

E.    &    S.    MAY    AND    S.    S.    ROGERS 

The  Messrs.  May  are  natives  of  Putney,  Vt.  The  sen- 
ior partner,  E.  S.  May,  born  in  1809,  commenced  his 
business  life  as  a  woolen  manufacturer  in  1833,  at  Wal- 
pole,  N.  H.,  removed  his  business  to  Granby  Mass.,  in 
1835,  began  the  manufacture  of  paper  in  Lee  in  1840. 
His  brother,  S.  S.  May,  younger  by  four  years,  served  a 
regular  apprenticeship  in  paper  manufacture,  and  came 
to  Lee  in  1834  as  foreman  of  the  Columbia  Mill,  owned 
at  that  time  by  W.,  W.  &  C.  Laflin.  In  1837,  in  connec- 
tion with  Jared  Ingersoll,  he  bought  an  interest  in  a  small 
paper  mill,  the  first  one  built  on  the  Lake  May  stream. 
In  1839,  the  mill  was  burned,  and  Mr.  E.  S.  May  bought 
out  Mr.  Ingersoll's  interest  the  following  year,  when  the 
mill  was  rebuilt.  Lake  May  reservoir  could  originally  be 
drawn  down  only  18  inches,  and  was  used  solely  for  driv- 
ing a  saw-mill  at  its  outlet.  But  the  Messrs.  May,  in  con- 
nection with  other  manufacturers,  have  raised  the  dam  at 
the  outlet  so  that  13  feet  of  water  can  now  be  drawn,  the 
reservoir  being  a  mile  and  a  half  long  and  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  wide.     In   1845,  the  May  Brothers  built  the 


THE    HISTOKY    OF    LEE.  299 

Middle  Mill,  on  a  site  above  their  original  mill.  Straw 
wrapping  paper  was  the  manufacture  of  both  mills  till 
competition  reduced  the  profits,  when,  in  1848,  the  Mays 
introduced  the  first  Fourdrinier  machine  ever  set  up  in 
Berkshire  county  for  the  manufacture  of  fine  paper.  In 
1853,  the  Mahaiwe  mill  was  built,  and  the  succeeding  year 
Mr.  S.  S.  Rogers  became  a  partner,  the  firm  name  being 
May  &  Rogers.  Mr.  Rogers  is  a  native  of  New  Marlboro, 
born  in  1823,  and  for  the  first  years  of  his  business  life 
was  a  merchant.  In  the  division  of  labor  in  the  new  firm, 
Mr.  Rogers  had  charge  of  marketing  the  production, 
while  the  Mays  attended  to  the  manufacturing  depart- 
ment. The  average  daily  consumption  of  rags  varies  from 
3,600  to  4,000  pounds.  The  production  of  the  three  mills 
is  2,500  pounds  fine  writing  paper,  largely  used  in  the 
Government  offices  at  Washington.  Their  wash  water, 
so  essential  in  the  production  of  fine  paper,  is  of  excel- 
lent quality,  from  a  famous  spring  on  the  old  Chanter 
place,  to  secure  which,  they  bought  the  whole  farm  of  180 
acres.  The  firm  of  May  &  Rogers  was  dissolved  in  1877, 
the  May  brothers  taking  the  two  lower  mills  and  Mr. 
Rogers  the  Mahaiwe.  Roth  of  the  new  firms  are  assisted 
in  their  business  by  their  sons.  The  Messrs.  May  have 
given  much  time  to  the  public,  both  having  served  faith- 
fully as  Selectmen  and  legislators,  and  Mr.  E.  S.  May  as 
County  Commissioner.  Mr.  Rogers  was  also  honored  with 
the  Presidency  of  the  Lee  and  Hudson  Railroad. 

P.    C.    BAIRD. 

Mr.  Baird  is  the  oldest  son  of  the  late  Kendall  Baird, 
Esq.,  of  Becket.  He  came  to  Lee  in  '53  with  his  cousin, 
J.  C.  Chaffee,  who  was  a  jeweler,  and  through  their  en- 
ergy and  enterprise  built  up  a  large  business.  In  '54  he 
sold  out  to  Mr.  Chaffee,  and  bought  of  Benton  &  Garfield 
the  upper  Forest  Mill.     In  '59,  he  bought  of  the  estate  of 


300  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Couch  &  Clark  the  Congress  Mill  built  by  Bradford  M. 
Couch  in  1852.  In  '61  the  Forest  Mill  was  burned  and 
never  rebuilt.  In  '63  he  bought  of  Linn  &  Smith  the 
National  Mill,  and  of  Mr.  Orton  Heath  the  Green  water 
Mill.  Mr.  Baircl  makes  collar  paper ;  can  manufacture 
about  3,500  pounds  daily,  and  sells  mostly  in  Boston  and 
New  York.  In  '64,  he  began  the  manufacture  of  paper 
collars.  In  all  his  enterprises  his  energy  and  persever- 
ance have  conquered  a  success.  He  has  represented  the 
town  in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature. 

BLAUVELT    &    GILLMOR. JAMES    GILLMOR. 

Blauvelt  &  Gillmor  came  to  Lee  in  '64,  to  manufacture 
twine  from  manila  paper,  occupying  the  mill  farthest 
East  on  Lake  May  brook,  which  was  formerly  owned  by 
Eldridge  &  Northrup.  During  the  war,  when  all  cotton 
products  were  very  high,  the  twine  made  from  manila 
paper  proved  an  excellent  substitute  for  cotton.  The 
value  of  the  manufactured  article  has  since  Mien  from  60 
cents  to  20  cents  per  pound.  In  '68,  the  twine  factory 
was  removed  to  Lee  from  Paterson.  In  '72,  October  25, 
the  mill  was  burned,  and  Mr.  Blauvelt  returned  to  Pater- 
son. Mr.  Gillmor  rebuilt  the  mill,  but  it  was  burned 
again  1877,  March  1.  Not  discouraged,  Mr.  Gillmor  re- 
built in  the  Summer  of  1877,  and  his  mill  is  now  in  suc- 
cessful operation. 

In  concluding  this  account  of  the  leading  industry  of 
Lee,  it  is  due  to  the  paper  manufacturers  to  say,  that  they 
have  all  stood  the  panic  pressure  of  the  last  four  years 
with  great  firmness.  None  have  failed,  and  the  business 
probably  never  rested  on  a  surer  foundation  than  it  does 
to-day.  Imports  from  competing  manufacturers  in  Eng- 
land, France  and  Germany,  have  nearly  ceased,  and  a 
hopeful  effort  is  now  being  made  to  supply  these  and  other 
foreign  countries  with  many  lines  of  American  paper. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  301 

SUBSIDIARY   INDUSTRIES. 

RAG-ENGINES. 

In  connection  with  the  paper  business,  other  industries, 
aside  from  the  machine  shops  already  mentioned,  have 
sprung  up  that  deserve  notice.  One  of  the  first  wants 
of  a  paper  mill  is  knives  or  rather  bars,  by  which,  fas- 
tened into  wooden  cylinders,  the  rags  are  torn  into  pulp 
without  injuring  the  fibre.  Each  cylinder  of  a  rag-engine 
requires  from  forty  to  ninety  of  these  bars,  which  are 
made  of  one-fifth  steel  and  four-fifths  iron.  Soon  after 
the  manufacture  of  paper  was  started  in  this  town,  Mr. 
Cornelius  Barlow,  a  blacksmith,  commenced  making  these 
rag  knives,  as  they  were  called,  first  at  his  shop  which 
was  located  in  the  nort-heast  part  of  the  town  near  w7hat 
is  now  called  the  Tuttle  Bridge.  This  shop  burning  down, 
and  the  forging  of  these  knives  demanding  more  than 
muscular  power,  he  bought  a  water  privilege  at  East  Lee, 
and  began  forging  them  by  water-power.  Mr.  Barlow's 
health  failing,  he  sold  out  his  shop  to  Henry  Murray,  who 
took  in  John  Dowd  as  a  partner  in  1847,  and  the  busi- 
ness was  conducted  for  six  years  by  the  firm  of  Murray 
&  Dowd.  In  1853,  Mr.  R.  J.  Dowd,  a  brother  of  John, 
bought  out  Mr.  Murray's  interest,  and  the  firm  of  J.  & 
R.  J.  Dowd  was  constituted.  These  gentlemen  were  na- 
tives of  Sandisfield.  Both  learned  their  trade  of  Mr. 
Murray  and  by  diligence  and  skill  built  up  such  a  repu- 
tation that  their  work  was  sought  for  from  all  parts  of 
the  country.  Their  orders  varied  from  year  to  year,  as 
the  paper  business  ebbed  and  flowed,  some  years  amount- 
ing to  $20,000,  and  others  to  only  half  this  sum.  In 
the  Spring  of  1877,  Mr.  John  Dowd  bought  out  his  broth- 
er's interest,  and  is  now  assisted  by  his  son,  Mr.  R.  J. 
Dowd  removing  to  Beloit,  Wisconsin,  where  he  has  estab- 
lished a  similar  manufactory. 


302  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

WATER-WHEELS. 

A  very  necessary  adjunct  of  a  paper  mill  run  by  wa- 
ter, is  a  water-wheel.  Mr.  E.  D.  Jones,  a  wheelwright, 
commenced  the  manufacture  of  turbine  and  other  wheels 
at  East  Lee  in  1856.  Mr.  Jones  was  master  of  his  busi- 
ness, and  established  an  enviable  reputation  and  a  snug 
fortune  in  manufacturing  wheels  and  building  paper  mills. 
He  took  large  contracts  not  only  in  this  but  in  neighbor- 
ing towns,  and  desiring  a  more  central  location,  removed 
to  Pittsfield  in  1866,  selling  out  his  establishment  at  East 
Lee  to  Henry  Couch  and  Freeland  Oakley,  who  learned 
their  trade  of  him.  Messrs.  Couch  and  Oakley  have  con- 
tinued the  business  successfully  and  are  turning  out  work 
from  their  establishment  to  the  amount  of  about  $12,000 
per  annum. 

THE    MARBLE    BUSINESS. 

From  the  early  settlement  of  the  town  it  was  known 
that  extensive  beds  of  limestone  cropped  out  in  the  west- 
ern half  of  the  town,  being  a  continuation  of  the  lime- 
rock  of  Vermont  that  extends  through  Berkshire  County 
into  Connecticut.  Most  of  the  limestone  of  Lee  is  dolo- 
mite, a  compound  of  the  carbonate  of  lime  and  magne- 
sia, but  much  of  it  has  a  fine  white  grain,  and  can  be  cut 
to  a  sharp  edge  and  polished  highly.  The  farmers  on 
whose  land  this  rock  cropped  out  regarded  it  as  a  nui- 
sance, little  thinking,  that  one  day  it  would  prove  a  source 
of  great  wealth  to  the  town.  The  marble  of  West  Mock- 
bridge  was  quarried  and  sent  to  market  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  but  that  of  Lee  was  con- 
sidered so  remote  from  tide-water  that  the  transportation 
would  be  too  expensive  to  allow  of  its  being  marketed 
with  profit.  On  the  farm  of  David  Ingersoll,  where  now 
is  the  quarry  of  Mr.  Warren  P.  Wilde,  the  stone  lay  in 
strata  near  the  surface,  and  these  Mr.  Ingersoll  got  out 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  303 

in  considerable  quantity,  but  mainly  for  hearth  and  step 
stones.  The  older  inhabitants  remember  the  two  large 
and  beautiful  specimens  of  marble  from  this  quarry  which 
Mr.  Ingersoll  got  out  for  the  horse-blocks  of  the  church 
built  in  1800.  Many  of  the  step-stones  of  the  present 
residences  of  the  town  were  quarried  by  Mr.  Ingersoll  in 
the  olden  time,  and  are  fine  specimens  of  marble. 

But  it  was  not  till  the  Housatonic  railroad  opened 
an  avenue  to  market  that  the  Lee  marble  gained  a  noto- 
riety. It  was  about  this  time  that  Congress  determined 
upon  an  enlargement  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington  and 
a  commission  was  appointed  to  examine  the  marbles  of 
the  country  and  decide  which  was  best  for  building  pur- 
poses. The  Lee  marble  was  found  to  stand  a  much  greater 
pressure  than  any  other,  and  also  to  be  quite  free  from 
iron  and  other  impurities.  Mr.  Charles  Heebner,  an  im- 
porter and  dealer  in  marble  at  Philadelphia,  was  active 
in  bringing  the  Lee  marble  to  the  attention  of  the  com- 
mission, and  in  1 852  purchased  the  farm  of  William  L. 
Culver,  near  the  village  of  Lee,  made  a  contract  with  the 
Government  for  furnishing  half  a  million  cubic  feet  for 
the  Capitol  enlargement,  and  in  connection  with  his  part- 
ners, Messrs.  Rice  and  Baird,  opened  what  has  since  been 
known  as  the  Heebner  quarry,  building  a  branch  railroad 
from  the  Housatonic  into  it,  so  that  the  marble  could  be 
hoisted  from  the  quarry  directly  upon  the  cars.  Mr. 
Heebner  was  the  manager  of  the  quarry  and  was  a  man 
of  great  energy,  strong  will  and  good  judgment.  The 
enterprise  was  a  success.  Twelve  years  were  allowed  in 
the  contract  for  the  delivery  of  the  marble  at  Washing- 
ton, and  during  these  years,  Mr.  Heebner  employed  about 
a  hundred  men.  He  also  purchased,  in  connection  with 
some  parties  in  New  York,  a  section  of  the  farm  of  Mr. 
C.  K.  Lanphier  and  the  whole  of  the  Van  Deusen  farm, 
and  opened  what  has  been  called  the  New  York  quarry. 


304  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Mr.  Heebner  lived  to  fulfill  his  contract  with  the  Govern- 
ment and  at  its  expiration  in  1865,  he  had  delivered  at 
Washington  491,570  cubic  feet  of  marble,  receiving  there- 
for $865,043,  besides  furnishing  stone  for  sundry  smaller 
buildings  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  The  business 
brought  much  money  into  town  and  was  a  great  help  to 
the  Housatonic  road,  down  which  the  marble  was  trans- 
ported to  Bridgeport,  and  thence  shipped  to  Washington. 
Mr.  Heebner  died  at  Philadelphia  in  1867,  but  the  Heebner 
and  New  York  quarries  were  soon  purchased  of  his  estate 
by  Mr.  Frank  S.  Gross,  a  nephew  who  had  been  trained 
to  the  business  by  his  uncle,  and  who  still  continues  to 
work  them.  Mr.  Gross  has  introduced  all  the  modern 
improvements  for  quarrying,  using  eight  channeling  ma- 
chines driven  by  steam,  each  of  which  does  the  work  of 
twenty  men.  He  also  runs  a  steam  diamond-drill  for 
horizontal  drilling,  that  bores  a  hole  into  a  rock  faster 
than  an  auger  penetrates  wood.  In  the  ten  years  during 
which  Mr.  Gross  has  had  possession  of  the  quarries,  he  has 
shipped  between  six  and  seven  hundred  thousand  cubic 
feet  of  marble,  part  of  which  went  to  Boston  and  New 
York,  but  most  of  it  to  Philadelphia,  where  it  has  been 
used  for  the  enlargement  of  Girard  College  and  more 
especially  for  the  erection  of  the  City  Hall,  a  magnificent 
structure  which  will  require  years  for  its  completion. 

In  1871,  Mr.  Warren  P.  Wilde,  who  had  been  working 
the  quarries  of  Pleasantville,  N.  Y.,  and  had  a  large  con- 
tract for  furnishing  marble  for  the  Catholic  Cathedral  on 
Fifth  Avenue,  New  York,  purchased  the  quarry  originally 
opened  by  David  Ingersoll,  and  immediately  commenced 
shipping  marble.  This  quarry  works  with  great  ease  -as 
the  stone  are  so  stratified,  but  the  marble  is  not  of  the 
finest  quality,  nor  does  it  furnish  such  magnificent  blocks 
as  are  quarried  by  Mr.  Gross.  Mr.  Wilde  uses  no  steam 
power  but  employs  a  dozen  men  and  ships  about  30,000 


RESIDENCE  OE  F.  S.  GROSS. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  305 

cubic  feet  annually.  There  is  no  limit  to  the  supply  of 
marble  which  this  town  can  furnish,  and  the  marble  im- 
proves in  color  and  quality  the  deeper  the  quarries  are 
worked. 

THE    LUMBER    BUSINESS. 

Lumber,  which  in  the  early  history  of  the  town  was 
one  of  the  chief  articles  of  export,  was  pretty  much  ex- 
hausted in  the  first  half  of  the  present  century,  the  for- 
ests being  cut  off  not  only  for  this  purpose,  but  for  mak- 
ing charcoal,  and  more  especially  for  furnishing  firewood, 
the  paper  mills  using  up  large  quantities  for  generating 
steam.  The  neighboring  towns,  Washington,  Becket, 
Otis  and  Tyringham,  supplied  the  demand  here  for  com- 
mon lumber,  but  for  nice  work  resort  was  had  to  Albany  ; 
no  regular  lumber  yard  being  established  here  till' 1850, 
when  one  was  opened  by  Mr.  George  F.  Bradley.  The 
business  was  conducted  on  a  small  scale  at  first,  but  grad- 
ually increased  and  proved  a  great  convenience  to  the 
town  and  the  foundation  of  a  small  fortune  to  the  pro- 
prietor. Mr.  Bradley's  health  failing,  he  sold  out  his 
business  in  1869  to  Luther  Ball,  a  grandson  of  Nathan 
Ball,  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  the  town,  and  his 
brother-in-law,  William  H.  Baldwin.  The  new  firm  of 
Ball  &  Baldwin  sold,  the  first  year,  $15,000  worth  of 
lumber,  and  the  business  has  steadily  increased,  amount- 
ing in  one  year  to  $50,000,  and  in  these  dull  times  for 
building  averaging  $30,000  at  retail  and  $8,000  by  car- 
load. Most  of  their  nice  lumber  is  brought  directly  from 
the  saw-mills  in  Michigan  and  Canada.  They  keep  on 
hand  a  stock  varying  from  $8,000  to  $10,000  in  value. 
Much  lumber  is  still  brought  to  Lee  from  the  neighbor- 
ing towns. 

THE    COAL    BUSINESS. 

Coal  was  an  article  seldom  seen  in  Lee  in  the  first  half 
of  this  century.     With  the   building  of  the   Housatonic 


30G  TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

railroad  in  1850  came  increased  facilities  for  obtaining 
this  most  condensed  form  of  fuel,  and  it  has  gradually 
supplanted  wood  both  in  mills  and  private  dwellings. 
Even  farmers,  owners  of  wood  lots,  find  it  cheaper  to  burn 
coal  than  to  haul,  cut  and  store  wood.  The  first  dealers 
in  coal  were  John  Ingersoll  and  William  T.  Fish.  The 
first  regular  coal  yard  in  town  was  started  by  Messrs. 
Benjamin  Hull  and  David  Dresser,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Hull  &  Dresser,  in  1859.  The  business  at  first  was 
small ;  the  sales,  the  first  year,  amounting  to  only  200 
tons,  which  were  mainly  used  in  private  dwellings.  The 
paper  mills  soon  substituted  coal  for  wood  in  generating 
steam,  but  the  proprietors  mostly  bought  directly  from 
the  shippers  by  wholesale.  Mr.  Hull  dying  in  1863,  was 
succeeded  in  the  coal  business  by  Messrs.  Piatt  &  Barnes 
of  West  Stockbridge,  and  the  firm  name  was  changed  to 
Dresser  &  Co.,  and  in  this  name  the  business  is  still  con- 
ducted, though  Mr.  Dresser  and  P.  M.  Shaylor  now  consti- 
tute the  company.  The  retail  trade  in  coal  of  this  firm 
averages  1,500  tons  annually.  In  1872,  Messrs.  F.  W. 
Gibbs  and  A.  M.  Holmes  started  another  coal  yard  here 
which  is  still  continued  under  the  name  of  Perry,  Hull  & 
Co.  The  sales  of  this  yard  also  average  about  1,500 
tons.  The  whole  amount  of  coal  consumed  in  this  town 
annually  is  estimated  at  12,000  tons,  and  the  consumption 
continues  to  increase. 

THE    MEAT    BUSINESS. 

So  long  as  Lee  was  a  substantially  agricultural  town, 
there  was  no  meat  market  here  nor  even  a  slaughter- 
house. The  farmers  fattened  and  slaughtered  their  own 
meat,  furnishing  the  mechanics  "  by  the  quarter,"  mainly 
in  the  way  of  barter,  and  keeping  up  a  supply  of  "  fresh  " 
among  themselves  by  exchange  with  their  neighbors.  In 
the  summer,  a  calf  or  sheep  was  slaughtered  occasionally, 


THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE.  307 

but  the  main  reliance  for  meat  at  this  season  of  the  year 
was  on  the  beef  and  pork  barrels,  and  "  potluck  "  was  the 
staple  dish  for  dinner.  Much  beef  and  pork  found  a 
market  at  Hudson,  and  some  was  carried  to  Boston. 
The  price  of  meat  was  low  in  those  days,  beef  selling  for 
five  and  six  cents  a  pound  by  the  quarter,  and  pork  for 
four  and  five.  Nathaniel  Bassett,-  the  blacksmith  of  the 
village,  did  the  "butchering"  as  it  was  called,  for  his 
neighbors,  and  took  his  pay  in  a  piece  of  meat,  which  he 
sometimes  sold.  He  was  a  very  conscientious  man,  and 
when  meat  began  to  appreciate  he  hardly  dared  to  ask 
the  market  price.  Offering  a  nice  cutlet  of  veal  to  Dr. 
Hyde,  he  was  asked  the  price.  His  reply  was,  "  They 
say  veal  is  selling  for  six  cents,  but,  good  George!"  a 
favorite  exclamation  which  he  had  learned  in  the  days 
of  George  the  Third,  "  veal  was  never  worth  so  much, 
and  you  may  have  it  for  five  cents."  In  1830,  Capt. 
Thomas  E.  M.  Bradley  started  a  slaughter-house  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  village,  and  commenced  running  a  meat 
cart  from  house  to  house.  The  first  regular  meat  market 
was  established  in  1852  by  Messrs.  Dyke  and  Babcock, 
who  were  bought  out  by  Messrs.  James  Bullard  and  C.  E. 
Hinckley  in  1857.  Another  was  started  by  Robert  B. 
Cheney  in  1862,  and  these  two  firms  still  continue  the 
business.  Their  average  sales  for  the  past  few  years 
have  been  $30,000  each.  In  war  times  they  amounted 
to  $50,000.  Much  beef  and  pork  are  brought  to  these 
markets  from  neighboring;  towns,  and  in  the  Summer 
most  of  the  beef  is  purchased  in  Albany. 

THE    MERCHANTS    OF    LEE. 

The  name  of  the  Lee  merchants  is  legion,  for  there 
have  been  many,  and  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  trace 
them  through  their  many  changes.  Nathan  Dillingham 
was   the   first  who,  soon   after  the   incorporation   of  the 


308  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

town,  opened  a  small  store  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  his 
hotel,  the  Red  Lion,  located  on  the  lot  which  is  now  the 
residence  of  Abiel  H.  Pease.  Teas,  spices,  liquors,  and  a 
few  dry  goods  constituted  the  bulk  of  his  goods,  and  the 
trade  was  mostly  by  barter.  The  business  increasing,  he 
erected  a  building  purposely  for  trade  and  took  in  Corne- 
lius T.  Fessenclen  as  a  partner.  The  firm  of  Dillingham 
&  Fessenclen  seem  to  have  had  a  monopoly  of  the  mer- 
cantile business  here  till  nearly  the  close  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, when  John  Howk,  in  connection  with  a  Mr.  Hall, 
opened  a  store  in  a  double  log  house  formerly  occupied 
by  his  father,  Richard  Van  Huyck,  as  the  name  was  orig 
inally  spelled,  and  located  west  of  the  residence  of  the 
late  Albert  M.  Howk.  About  the  same  time,  Mr.  Eben- 
ezer  Jenkins,  a  well-to-do  farmer  living  a  mile  east  of  Mr. 
J.  B.  Freeman  on  what  has  been  known  of  late  years  as 
the  Harteau  place,  becoming  satisfied  that  the  business  of 
the  town  would  center  around  the  church,  sold  out  his 
farm  and  built  a  house  and  store  on  the  south  side  of  the 
park,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Dewitt  S.  Smith. 

Major  Dillingham  continued  in  trade  till  the  war  of 
1812,  and  may  be  called  the  patriarch  of  Lee  merchants. 
He  brought  up  a  large  family  of  children,  most  of  whom 
made  their  mark  in  the  world.  Two  sons  were  educated 
at  Williams  College,  one  of  whom  became  a  distinguished 
lawyer  and  the  other  a  prominent  educator.  Two  inher- 
ited their  father's  taste  lor  trade  and  became  merchants, 
one  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  the  other  at  Columbus,  Ga. 
Two  daughters  were  deaf  and  dumb,  and  these  were  edu- 
cated at  the  Hartford  Asylum,  one  afterwards  assisting 
her  father  as  clerk,  and  the  other  becoming  an  assistant 
matron  at  the  Asylum. 

The  war  of  1812  brought  with  it  changes  in  the  mer- 
cantile and  other  business  of  the  town.  Thomas  C.  Du- 
rant   succeeded    Messrs.    Dillingham    &    ^essenden,    and 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  309 

Messrs.  Elisha  Foote  and  Ransom  Hinman  opened  a  store 
in  connection  with  their  duck  factory.  This  was  located 
on  the  site  of  the  store  now  occupied  by  William  Taylor. 
John  B.  Perry,  son  of  Rev.  David  Perry,  of  Richmond, 
Mass.,  also  bought  out  Mr.  Jenkins,  and  continued  in 
trade  here  till  his  death  in  1843,  in  the  meantime  erect- 
ing a  new  store  on  the  west  of  his  house,  and  selling  the 
old  Jenkins  building  which  stood  on  the  east  side,  and  was 
converted  into  the  rear  part  of  the  residence  of  the  late 
Joseph  Bassett.  Mr.  Perry  was  one  of  the  most  perma- 
nent and  successful  of  the  Lee  merchants.  His  business 
was  never  large,  but  was  conducted  so  prudently  that  he 
escaped  the  wrecks  which  so  many  of  his  contemporaries 
suffered. 

Oliver  Ives  succeeded  Foote  &  Hinman  in  1817,  and  was 
in  turn  succeeded  by  J.  &  L.  Church  in  1820,  by  Church 
&  Bassett  in  1832,  and  by  William  Taylor,  the  present 
occupant  and  the  most  permanent  and,  on  the  whole,  the 
most  successful  of  the  Lee  merchants,  in  1837. 

In  1824,  Messrs.  Laflin,  Loomis  &  Co.,  bought  a  part  of 
the  old  duck  factory  building  and  moved  it  to  where 
Chauncey  T.  Smith's  tin  shop  now  stands,  and  started  a 
store  of  more  pretensions  than  had  been  customary  in 
Lee.  This  firm  was  succeeded  by  W.,  W.  &  C.  Laflin  in 
1833,  by  John  King  in  1835,  by  Ranney  &  Boies  in  1836, 
by  Laflin  &  Mills  in  1840,  and  by  L.  L.  Mills  &  Co.  in 
1845. 

The  same  year  in  which  the  Laflins  commenced  the 
mercantile  business  at  the  south  end  of  the  village,  Messrs. 
John  Nye,  Jr.  &  Co.,  built  a  new  store  at  the  upper  end 
on  the  site  of  the  present  block  of  Messrs.  Sparks  &  Ca- 
sey. This  firm  was  composed  of  four  partners,  John 
Nye,  Jr.,  Messrs.  Ball  &  Bassett,  Thomas  Bassett  and  Isaac 
C.  Ives,  who  were  at  this  time  running  a  paper  mill,  and 
started  the  store  as  an  auxiliary  to  their  other  business. 


310  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

Mr.  Ives  was  the  manager  of  the  store,  and  the  firm  con- 
tinued in  trade  till  1835,  when  it  was  succeeded  by  Ives, 
Sturges  &  Co.  William  T.  Fish  afterwards  occupied  this 
stand  for  a  number  of  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Messrs. 
Hitchcock  &  Bradley,  and  in  1871  by  Messrs.  Sparks  & 
Casey,  the  present  merchants  on  this  ground,  who  removed 
the  old  store  of  John  Nye,  Jr.  &  Co.,  and  put  up  the  com- 
modious block  which  bears  their  name. 

In  1833,  Messrs.  Benedict  &  Chamberlin  came  to  Lee 
from  Dalton  and  built  the  store  now  occupied  by  James 
W.  Ferry  at  the  corner  of  Center  and  Mill  streets.  This 
firm  traded  here  only  two  years,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Henry  Sabin  &  Co. ;  Messrs.  S.  &  A.  Hulbert  being  the 
company.  A  prosperous  business  was  built  up  by  this 
firm,  and  after  a  few  years,  Mr.  Sabin  bought  out  his  part- 
ners and  continued  trading  at  the  old  stand  with  only  a 
short  interval,  when  the  store  was  occupied  by  Messrs. 
Platner  &  Porter  till  1852,  when  he  sold  out  to  Charles 
N.  Couch,  who  soon  after  took  in  his  brother-in-law  Mr. 
Theron  Reed,  as  partner.  The  firm  of  Couch  &  Reed  was 
succeeded  by  Homer  Hitchcock,  and  he  in  turn  by  the 
present  enterprising  merchant,  James  W.  Ferry,  who  has 
enlarged  and  much  improved  the  premises. 

About  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  store  in  which 
Mr.  Sabin  traded  so  long  and  successfully,  Mr.  Milton  J. 
Ingersoll,  a  grandson  of  "  Squire  Ingersoll,"  built  a  store 
on  the  west  side  of  Main  street,  which  he  conducted  a  few 
years  in  connection  with  the  paper  business.  Mr.  Inger- 
soll was  succeeded  by  Austin  D.  Moore,  who  remained 
only  a  year  or  two,  and  was  followed  in  1837  by  Messrs. 
Phelps  &  Hill,  soon  after  by  Phelps  &  Field,  and  in  1841 
by  Messrs.  S.  &  N.  Gibbs.  Mr.  S.  Gibbs  soon  retired  from 
the  firm  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  John  R.  Smith  in 
1843,  when  the  trade  was  continued  in  this  store  by  the 
firm  of  Gibbs  &  Smith  till  1851,  when  Mr.  Gibbs  was  sue- 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  311 

ceecled  by  Mr.  S.  S.  Rogers.  The  latter  soon  going  into 
the  paper  business  with  the  Messrs.' May,  was  followed 
by  Edward  Bosworth.  The  firm  of  Smith  &  Bosworth 
continued  till  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith,  which  occurred  in 
1860,  when  Mr.  Bosworth  traded  alone  at  the  old  stand 
till  1869,  and  then  he  removed  to  Northrup's  block  at  the 
south  end  of  the  village,  taking  in  George  H.  Tanner  as 
a  partner  in  1876.  The  firm  of  Bosworth  &  Tanner  are 
now  doing  the  largest  mercantile  business  ever  done  in 
Lee,  their  sales  amounting  to  $110,000  annually. 

In  1846,  Mr.  George  H.  Phelps  built  a  block  of  stores 
and  offices  in  connection  with  his  tin  shop,  directly  south 
of  the  store  erected  by  Milton  J.  Ingersoll.  In  this  block 
Messrs.  Bostwick  &  Patterson  commenced  trading  in  1847, 
and  were  followed  in  1849  by  Messrs.  Rogers  &  Mills,  the 
latter  company  dissolving  in  1851,  when  Mr.  Rogers 
formed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  J.  R.  Smith,  and  the  block 
has  been  mainly  used  since  for  clothing  and  millinery 
stores. 

In  1849,  Messrs.  J.  &  L.  Church  erected  a  block  of  stores 
at  the  south  end  of  the  village,  just  north  of  the  bank, 
which  was  occupied  in  part  by  Messrs.  Taylor  &  Averill, 
Taylor  &  Eldridge,  and  Thomas  P.  Eldridge.  The  latter, 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  the  Lee  merchants,  re- 
moved to  New  York  city,  there  building  up,  in  con- 
nection with  George  Bliss  &  Co.,  a  large  business.  This 
block  was  burned  in  1857,  but  was  rebuilt  the  same  year 
by  J.  M.  Northrup,  who  put  up  the  present  substantial 
brick  block  in  which  Messrs.  Bosworth  &  Tanner  are  doing 
a  large  business,  occupying  two  stores,  the  one  for  gro- 
ceries and  the  other  for  dry  goods,  buying  out  for  this 
purpose  the  goods  of  A.  G.  Harding,  who  for  a  few  years 
occupied  one  of  them. 

The  "  Exchange  "  block  on  the  other  side  of  the  street 
was  erected  by  Dr.  Peabody  in   1859,  and  was  occupied 


312  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

at  first  as  a  drug  store  and  for  a  milliner's  shop,  but  T. 
A.  Oman,  having  purchased  it,  removed  his  dry  goods 
and  groceries  here  from  East  Lee,  where  he  had  been  suc- 
cessfully trading  for  some  years.  Mr.  Oman  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1876  by  Messrs.  Albee  &  Sabin,  and  they  by 
the  present  firm  of  Albee  &  Moore  in  1877.  Morey's 
and  Baird's  blocks,  on  the  north  of  the  Exchange,  have 
never  been  occupied  for  general  mercantile  business,  but 
for  drugs,  clothing,  hardware,  etc.,  as  at  present. 

Besides  the  mercantile  business  done  in  the  center  of 
the  town,  more  or  less  goods  have  been  sold  since  early 
in  the  present  century  at  East  and  South  Lee.  James 
Whiton  opened  a  store  in  East  Lee,  in  connection  with 
his  furnace,  which  was  afterwards  continued  for  many 
years  by  Wm.  P.  Hamblin.  T.  A.  Oman  also  traded  in 
East  Lee  for  a  number  of  years  before  his  removal  to  the 
Center.  Mr.  Oman  was  succeeded  by  R.  R.  Harder,  and 
he  in  turn  by  Wm.  Avery  the  present  occupant  of  the 
Oman  store.  Messrs.  Benton  &  Garfield  started  a  store  in 
Water  street  at  the  same  time,  they  commenced  the 
paper  business  there  which  is  still  continued  by  Mr.  Gar- 
field. At  South  Lee,  Messrs.  Owen  and  Hurlbut  ran  a  store 
for  many  years  in  connection  with  their  paper  business, 
but  finally  sold  this  branch  of  their  business  to  J.  T.  Mer- 
rill &  Co.,  and  the  store  at  the  west  end  of  the  village  is 
now  conducted  by  Charles  G.  Merrill.  At  the  east  end 
Nathaniel  Tremain  early  in  the  century  opened  a  store 
in  connection  with  his  hotel.  For  several  years,  Leroy  S. 
Kellogg  has  been  the  merchant  in  this  part  of  the 
village. 

It  is  evident  from  the  above  brief  sketch  of  the  Lee 
merchants,  that  the  mercantile  business  here  as  every 
where,  has  been  a  changeable  and  precarious  one.  It 
probably  never  was  on  a  better  foundation  than  at 
present.     In   the  early  history  of  the   town,  it  was  the 


TIIE    niSTORY    OF    LEE.  Old 

custom  of  the  citizens  to  go  to  Stockbridge  to  trade,  as 
the  merchants  there  were  early  established  and  kept  a 
greater  stock.  The  tide  has  turned ;  Lee  is  now  the 
center  of  trade  for  most  of  the  surrounding  towns.  The 
largest  dry  goods  merchants  are,  Bosworth  and  Tanner, 
whose  sales  average  $110,000  a  year,  Sparks  &  Casey, 
$50,000,  William  Taylor,  $30,000,  James  W.  Ferry, 
$30,000  and  Albee  &  Moore,  $30,000.  In  all,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  the  amount  of  goods  now  sold  here  annually, 
including  the  dry  goods,  groceries,  clothing,  boots  and 
shoes,  drugs,  etc.  must  exceed  half  a  million  of  dollars 

It  is  curious  to  notice  the  division  of  trade  that  has 
gradually  grown  up  among  the  merchants.  The  first 
traders  kept  regular  country  stores,  dealt  in  dry  goods, 
groceries,  drugs,  jewelry,  clothing,  hardware,  etc.  Now 
there  are  besides  the  dry  goods  merchants,  three  regular 
druggists,  two  boot  and  shoe  stores,  three  clothing  stores, 
two  jewelry  establishments,  two  tin  shops,  one  hardware 
merchant,  two  flour  and  feed  stores,  one  tobacco  dealer, 
one  book  and  variety  store,  one  dealer  in  ladies'  fancy 
goods,  and  one  fish  and  fruit  market. 

MECHANICAL   INDUSTRIES. 

Lee  has  ever  been  well  supplied  with  good  workmen 
in  almost  every  department  of  mechanical  industry. 
Ansel  Bassett  and  John  Crosby,  were  among  the  first 
carpenters  and  joiners,  and  built  many  of  the  early  dwell- 
ings and  barns.  The  farmers,  however,  in  those  days 
were  skilled,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  in  mechanical 
trades,  and  did  much  of  their  work  within  themselves.  The 
Ingersolls,  the  Howks,  the  Bradleys,  the  Balls  and  others 
had  shops  in  which  they  kept  a  good  supply  of  tools,  and 
did  their  own  common  carpentering  and  cobbling,  and 
sometimes  made  their  own  carts  and  wagons. 

David  Baker  and  Eli  Bradley  were  the  first  shoe- 
40 


314  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

makers,  keeping  no  shops  expressly  for  the  business,  but 
going  from  house  to  house  and  working  by  the  day, 
charging  a  dollar  for  a  day's  work  of  twelve  hours. 

Clothing  both  for  men  and  women,  was  mostly  made 
in  the  family,  but  sometimes  a  seamstress  was  employed 
to  aid  in  this  department,  and  her  regular  per  diem  was 
twenty-five  cents.  The  first  regular  tailor  was  Simon 
Sterns,  who  early  in  the  present  century  started  a  shop 
in  the  house  first  east  of  the  Center  school-house.  He 
afterwards  opened  a  shop  in  the  village  over  the  cabinet 
shop  of  Mr.  Abner  Taylor. 

The  first  blacksmith  was  Nathaniel  Bassett,  whose  shop 
stood  on  the  north  side  of  East  Park  street,  about  where 
High  street  now  opens  into  Park.  Mr.  Bassett  was  born 
in  Sandwich,  Mass.,  in  1757,  and  came  to  Lee  in  company 
with  his  brother  Cornelius  in  1778.  He  lived  at  first  in 
the  rear  part  of  what  is  now  the  residence  of  Mr.  E.  A. 
Moore,  and  afterwards  built  the  two  story  front  of  this 
house.  He* did  good  service  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
for  which  he  received  a  pension  from  his  grateful  country. 
He  was  a  good  mechanic,  a  useful  citizen  and  an  humble 
Christian.  He  died  in  1846  at  the  ripe  age  of  88,  leav- 
ing, among  other  monuments  to  his  memory,  some  noble 
elms,  a  row  of  these  trees  having  been  set  out  by  him  on 
either  side  of  Park  street. 

The  first  mason  that  settled  in  Lee,  was  Cornelius  Bas- 
sett, who  came  here  with  his  brother  Nathaniel  in  the 
first  year  after  the  incorporation  of  the  town.  He  built  a 
one-story  house  on  the  ground  on  which  now  stands  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Wellington  Smith ;  in  fact  the  same 
timbers  which  Mr.  Bassett  used  a  hundred  years  since, 
are  now  the  frame-work  of  the  first  story  of  Mr.  Smith's 
house.  That  he  was  a  good  mason  is  manifest  from  the 
mortar  still  remaining,  which  he  put  on  many  of  the  old 
houses,  and  which  is  as  hard  as  a  stone.     He  was  also  a 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  dlO 

good  man,  having  a  very  humble  opinion  of  himself,  but 
true  to  his  God,  and  faithful  to  his  fellow  men.  In  ac- 
cordance with  the  custom  of  most,  if  not  all,  masons  of 
his  day,  he  took  his  bitters  regularly  at  11  o'clock  a.  m., 
and  4  o'clock  p.  m.,  but  gave  up  the  habit  cheerfully 
when  the  temperance  movement  was  started  here  in 
1825.     In  his  last  sickness  he  was  afflicted  with  running 

o 

sores.  He  bore  the  affliction  with  great  fortitude,  affirm- 
ing that  it  was  in  consequence  of  the  rum  he  had  imbibed. 
Showing  his  ulcerated  limbs  to  his  pastor,  Dr.  Hyde,  he 
remarked,  "  there  are  my  four  o'clock's  which  for  so  many 
years  heated  my  blood  and  are  now  boiling  over." 

The  first  cabinet-maker  that  settled  in  Lee  was  Abner 
Taylor,  who  cama  here  in  1806,  and  by  great  industry 
and  frugality,  aided  by  a  very  energetic  wife,  brought 
up  a  family  of  eight  children,  giving  them  all  a  good 
education,  and  sending  one,  Dr.  Edward  Taylor,  to  col- 
lege. Mr.  Taylor's  first  residence  was  a  little  east  of  the 
village,  where  Mrs.  Axander  now  lives,  but  in  1815  he 
bought  the  house  formerly  occupied  by  C.  T.  Fessenden 
on  the  corner  of  Main  and  East  Park  streets,  which  he 
afterwards  moved  back  and  erected  the  residence  which 
constituted  his  home  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Ready- 
made  furniture  was  a  thing  unknown  when  Mr.  Taylor 
settled  in  Lee.  Everything,  even  to  a  coffin,  was  made 
upon  order,  and  it  may  be  added,  was  made  to  do  service. 
Much  cabinet  work  of  Mr.  Taylor's  manufacture  still  re- 
mains to  testify  to  his  skill  and  thoroughness.  Having  so 
many  children  to  educate,  he  took  great  interest  in  the 
public  schools  and  especially  in  the  establishment  of  the 
Lee  Academy,  and  was  abundantly  rewarded  by  seeing 
his  five  sons  all  making  their  mark  in  the  world,  four  as 
merchants  and  one  as  a  clergyman.  He  was  active  in  the 
shop,  the  church,  and  all  public  interests  till  a  few  days 
before  his  death  which  occurred  in   1853,  at  the  age  of 


3]  6  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

G9.  In  looking  over  Mr.  Taylor's  account  books,  one  is 
astonished  to  find  how  cheap  living  and  dying  were  in  his 
day.  His  charges  for  coffins  were  from  §2.75  to  §9.00. 
The  latter  sum,  the  highest  on  the  books,  being  charged 
for  a  cherry  coffin  with  extra  trimmings  for  Dr.  Hyde. 

The  painter's  and  glazier's  trade  seems  not  to  have 
been  a  distinct  business  here  in  the  early  days.  Glazing 
was  done  by  the  carpenters  and  joiners.  Many  houses 
were  left  unpaintecl,  a  few  were  painted  red  or  yellow, 
and  the  brush  in  these  cases  seems  to  have  been  used  by 
the  builders,  or  by  some  farmer's  boy  who  had  acquired 
some  little  skill  by  practice  in  handling  it.  Benjamin  Ful- 
ler was  the  first  who  made  painting  a  regular  trade.  He 
came  to  Lee  about  1820  and  continued  the  business  till 
his  death,  and  trained  a  number  of  others  to  aid  and 
succeed  him.  Scarcely  a  red  house  remains  in  town. 
White  succeeded  red  as  the  fashionable  color,  and  now 
the  various  stone  colors  are  the  prevalent  style. 

The  wheel-wright  trade  was  early  practiced  in  Lee, 
but  the  wheels  made  here  by  Josiah  Spencer  and  others 
were  more  for  house  than  factory  purposes.  Almost  ev- 
ery family  had  its  big  and  little  wheel  ;  the  former  for 
spinning  wool  and  the  latter  for  flax.  These  wheels  were 
often  made  quite  elaborately,  and  some  of  the  flax  wheels 
are  now  used  for  picture-frames.  Water-wheels  were  also 
made  here  as  wanted,  and  this  branch  of  the  business  in- 
creased as  the  other  diminished,  as  has  been  noticed  in 
the  history  of  the  manufactures. 

Stone-cutting  was  early  introduced  into  Lee  by  the 
brothers,  Thomas  and  William  Sturgis,  who  carried  on 
distinct  shops,  the  former  at  East  Lee,  and  the  latter  on 
the  hill-road  between  East  Lee  and  the  Center.  These 
two  establishments  supplied  grave  stones  and  other  cut 
stone  work  for  most  of  Southern  Berkshire.  Their  mon- 
uments are  to  be  found  in  almost  every  grave-yard  in 


TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  317 

this  vicinity.  These  brothers  originated,  as  did  all  the 
numerous  Sturgis  tribe  of  the  country,  from  a  good  family 
on  Cape  Cod.  Thomas'  skill  in  stone-cutting  descended 
to  his  son  Edwin,  who,  though  a  septuagenarian,  still  car- 
ries on  the  business  at  the  old  shop  established  by  his 
father  early  in  the  century. 

For  tin  goods,  Lee  long  depended  upon  the  tin-ped- 
dlers who  came  around  bartering  their  wares  for  rags, 
sheep-skins,  old  pewter,  etc.  The  brothers,  A.  &  E.  Com- 
stock,  first  started  a  regular  tin  shop  in  Lee  in  1835,  and 
were  bought  out  in  1837  by  Mr.  George  H.  Phelps,  who 
continued  the  business  till  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1875,  succeeded  by  his  son,  Henry  C  ,  wrho  had  for  some 
years  been  a  partner  with  his  father.  Mr.  Phelps,  Sen., 
was  also  for  a  short  time  associated  with  Matthew  D. 
Field  in  the  paper  business,  and  in  1862  was  appointed 
Deputy  United  States  Assessor.  He  was  a  man  of  clear 
head  and  positive  convictions.  He  has  left  his  monument 
in  town  in  the  form  of  a  numerous  and  much  respected 
family,  most  of  whom  are  settled  here. 

The  first  harness-maker  in  the  center  of  the  town  was 
George  Stillman,  who  came  from  Wethersfield  in  1S25, 
but  remained  only  a  few  years.  Previous  to  this  time 
the  citizens  went  to  the  neighboring  towns  for  their  har- 
nesses  and  saddles  and  repairs  of  the  same.  The  tide 
has  turned  and  Lee  now  supplies  the  vicinity  with  goods 
in  this  line,  there  being  two  harness  shops  at  the  Center 
and  two  at  South  Lee. 

Jethro  Thatcher  was  the  first  cooper.  The  Thatcher 
Genealogy  states  that  he  came  to  Lee  soon  after  the  mar- 
riage of  his  oldest  daughter  (1796),  "  to  enjoy  the  pas- 
toral ministrations  of  Rev.  Dr.  Hyde,"  being  dissatisfied 
with  the  Unitarian  influence  which  then  prevailed  in 
Barnstable,  his  former  residence.  He  purchased  a  farm 
on  the  Williams'  grant,  being  the  one  lately  owned  by 


318  TI1E    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

George  Markham  and  now  constituting  a  part  of  the 
plantation  of  Mr.  Elizur  Smith.  In  connection  with  his 
farm,  he  worked  at  his  old  trade  of  a  cooper,  and  made 
pails,  churns,  butter  firkins  and  cider  barrels  for  the  town. 
He  was  very  deaf,  and  is  remembered  by  some  still  on 
the  stage,  as  taking  his  seat  in  the  pulpit  on  the  Sabbath 
with  Dr.  Hyde,  and  standing  by  his  side  during  prayer 
and  preaching,  with  his  ear  trumpet  directed  toward  the 
minister,  that  he  might  catch  every  word  that  fell  from 
the  lips  of  the  divine  whom  he  so  much  revered.  Mr. 
Thatcher  died  in  1826,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  business 
by  Joseph  Chadwick,  who  is  better  remembered  as  a 
tithing  man,  making  himself  almost  as  conspicuous  in  the 
church  by  his  loud  reproval  of  naughty  boys  as  his  prede- 
cessor was  by  his  position  in  the  pulpit.  Mr.  Chadwick 
died  in  1857,  and  with  him  died  the  cooper's  trade  in  Lee  ; 
barrels,  pails,  tubs  and  all  the  work  of  this  craft  being 
now  more  economically  wrought  in  large  establishments. 
To  give  a  detailed  account  of  all  the  changes  among 
the  mechanics  in  this  town  would  swell  this  volume  to 
undue  proportion.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  each  trade,  the 
cooper's  excepted,  has  grown  with  the  growth  of  the 
town,  and  now  Lee  is  supplied  with  craftsmen  in  almost 
every  department  of  mechanic  art,  ready  to  do  the  work 
of  this  and  neighboring  towns. 

PRINTING    AND    NEWSPAPERS. 

Printing  was  one  of  the  last  mechanical  arts  introduced 
into  this  town.  In  1840,  E.  J.  Bull  opened  a  printing 
office  in  the  old  store  of  John  B.  Peny,  and  soon  after 
commenced  publishing  The  Berkshire  Democrat,  edited 
by  L.  D.  Brown.  This  paper  had  a  short  life  here,  and 
was  transferred  to  Stockbridge,  and  published  there  under 
the  name  of  The  Weekly  Visitor,  but  soon  ceased  to  have 
even  a  name  to  live.     In  1851,  a  printing  office  was  started 


THE    HISTOEY    OF    LEE.  319 

here  by  Messrs.  Charles  French  and  Josiah  A.  Royce, 
two  enterprising  young  men,  masters  of  their  trade,  who 
were  occupied  for  a  few  years  mainly  in  printing  wrap- 
pers for  the  paper  manufacturers.  In  December  1856,  a 
prospectus  was  issued  from  the  office  of  The  Westfield 
News  Letter,  announcing  that  The  Lee  Home  Companion 
would  be  published  weekly  in  Lee,  commencing  on  the 
first  of  January,  1857.  This  stirred  Messrs.  French  & 
Royce  to  a  similar  enterprise,  and  on  the  same  clay  in 
which  appeared  the  Home  Companion  was  also  published 
the  first  number  of  The  Valley  Gleaner.  The  former 
proved  to  be  a  second  edition  of  the  Westfield  News  Letter, 
with  a  local  editor  and  a  page  devoted  to  Lee  news  and 
advertisements.  The  Gleaner  appeared  on  a  small  sheet, 
18  by  24  inches,  with  only  four  columns  on  a  page.  At 
the  end  of  the  first  year  the  Companion  ceased  to  exist, 
and  the  Gleaner  was  enlarged  to  five  columns  on  a  page, 
and  still  further  enlarged  to  six  columns  at  the  commence- 
ment of  its  fourth  year  (1860).  In  1862,  Mr.  Royce 
bought  out  his  partner,  and  for  twelve  succeeding  years 
was  both  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Gleaner,  assisted  the 
latter  part  of  this  time  in  the  editorial  department  by 
Alexander  Hyde,  to  whom  and  J.  P.  Clark,  a  practical 
printer,  he  sold  the  office  in  1874  ;  in  the  mean  time  hav- 
ing enlarged  the  paper  to  its  present  size.  Mr.  Clark  re- 
tired from  the  office  the  first  of  January,  1876,  and  in 
1877,  Mr.  Hyde  sold  out  to  the  present  proprietors, 
Messrs.  Rockwell  &  Hill. 

In  1868,  The  Central  Berkshire  Chronicle  was  started  in 
this  town,  and  printed  and  published  by  Wm.  H.  Hill  &  Co., 
and  edited  by  James  Harding,  now  of  the  Pittsfield  Eagle. 
This  paper  continued  three  years  and  then  its  subscription 
list  was  transferred  to  the  Eagle,  Mr.  Hill  continuing  his 
job  office  in  Lee.  In  1876,  the  Chronicle  was  revived  by 
Mr.  Hill,  and  continued  for   about  a  year  when  it  was 


320  TIIE    HISTOKY    OF    LEE. 

united  with  the  Gleaner.  The  latter  paper  has  now  a  cir- 
culation of  over  1,100,  and  in  its  office  most  of  the  job 
printing  is  done  for  this  and  neighboring  towns,  paper- 
makers'  wrappers  being  a  specialty. 

PUBLIC    HOUSES. 

The  first  house  opened  in  town  for  the  entertainment 
of  strangers  was  a  small  log-house,  16  feet  square,  that 
stood  in  the  hollow  a  little  west  of  the  present  residence 
of  Mr.  John  Verrase.  The  second  public  house  was 
located  in  Cape  street,  near  the  saw-mill  of  the  late  Adan 
Ingram,  and  was  but  a  little  improvement  on  the  first. 
The  first  house  that  deserved  the  name  of  hotel  was  the 
"  Red  Lion,"  so  named  from  a  furious  red  lion  painted 
on  the  sign-board.  This  was  built  in  1778  by  Nathan 
Dillingham,  and  stood  on  East  Park  street,  near  the  pres- 
ent residence  of  Judge  Pease.  The  "  Red  Lion "  was 
the  only  hotel  in  the  village  till  1834,  when  the  Housa- 
tonic  House  was  built  by  William  Cole,  on  the  site  of 
Memorial  Hall.  The  "Housatonic"  was  greatly  enlarged 
and  improved  by  Mr.  Hicks  in  1865,  and  was  burned  in 
1867  and  not  rebuilt.  In  1854,  George  Van  Deusen 
opened  a  public  house  at  the  north  end  of  the  village, 
called  the  Center  Hotel.  This  house,  greatly  enlarged 
and  improved,  is  now  well  kept  by  Thomas  Norton.  In 
1868,  Mr.  Edward  Morgan  opened  the  Morgan  House  in 
the  residence  of  the  late  William  Porter,  and  afterwards 
enlarged  the  premises  to  accommodate  his  increasing 
custom.  The  Morgan  House  is  now  managed  by  H.  C. 
Winegar  &  Son. 

In  the  days  of  stages  and  turnpikes,  public  houses 
were  numerous.  In  1803,  Jedediah  Crocker  opened  a 
tavern,  as  a  public  house  was  then  called,  in  East  Lee, 
where  John  Moran  now  lives.  In  1815,  Pliny  Shaylor 
opened  another  a  mile  or  two  farther  east,  and  in  1820, 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  321 

Samuel  Sturgis  still  another,  the  Sturgis  House,  now  kept 
by  Watson  Strickland.  The  two  first  named  houses  were 
discontinued,  when  the  travel  centered  in  the  railroad. 
South  Lee  also,  for  a  long  time,  had  two  hotels ;  one  kept 
by  William  Morrill,  and  the  other  by  Nathaniel  Tremain. 
Besides  the  above,  the  houses  now  owned  by  T.  L.  Foote 
and  Jared  Bradley  were  used  as  public  houses  early  in 
the  present  century. 

PROFESSIONAL. 

[For  an  account  of  the  Lee  clergymen  see  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  town.] 
THE    LEE    LAWYERS. 

For  thirty  years  after  the  incorporation  of  Lee,  and 
nearly  fifty  years  after  the  first  settlements,  there  was  no 
law  office  in  the  town.  Not  that  there  were  no  crimes 
here  and  no  causes  for  civil  action,  for  during  and  after 
the  Shays'  rebellion  there  was  much  division  of  society, 
much  bitterness  of  feeling  and  many  violations  of  law. 
Fortunately  about  this  time,  Dr.  "Hyde  was  settled  as 
pastor  over  the  Congregational  church  here,  and  being 
eminently  a  man  of  peace,  his  first  mission  was  to  cast  oil 
on  the  troubled  waters.  How  well  he  succeeded,  the 
citizens  of  that  time  were  fond  of  telling  their  children. 
As  Mr.  Cornelius  Bassett  expressed  it,  "We  were  terribly 
Shaysy  when  Dr.  Hyde  came  to  Lee,  but  the  good  man 
melted  us  together  by  his  kindness  and  sympathy."  The 
discipline  of  the  church  was  parental  but  thorough,  and 
outside  of  the  church,  public  opinion  frowned  upon  all 
injustice  and  dishonesty.  Neighbors  settled  disputes 
among  themselves  mainly  by  reference.  What  little  liti- 
gation occurred,  was  managed  by  Lenox  and  Pittsfield 
lawyers.  Thus  things  ran  along  till  1807,  when  Alvan 
Coe,  a  native  of  Granville  settled  here  as  a  lawyer.  He 
was  a  good  jurist,  but  did  not  find  the  field  an  inviting 
41 


322  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

one  for  his  professsion,  and  after  trying  it  two  years,  de- 
cided upon  studying  theology,  and  was  afterwards  a  pastor 
at  Sandusky,  Ohio.  Augustus  Collins  succeeded  Mr.  Coe, 
and  built  an  office  on  the  south  side  of  Park  street,  a  lit- 
tle west  of  the  "  Red  Lion  "  hotel.  Mr.  Collins  remained 
two  or  three  years  and  then  moved  to  Westfield, 
succeeded  by  Rollin  C.  Dewey  of  Sheffield,  who  also  re- 
mained but  a  short  time,  removing  to  Indiana.  The  first 
lawyer  who  made  his  mark  upon  the  town  was  William 
Porter,  son  of  Dr.  William  Porter  of  Hadley.  Mr.  Porter 
graduated  at  Williams  College  in  1818,  studied  law  with 
Hon.  George  Bliss  of  Springfield,  settled  in  Lee  in  1817, 
and  here  remained  till  his  death  in  1853.  Probably  no 
layman  has  ever  made  a  better  impress  on  society  here 
than  Mr.  Porter.  He  was  not  brilliant  nor  eloquent,  but 
his  whole  make-up  was  so  symmetrical  that  his  counsels 
in  town  and  his  pleas  at  the  bar,  carried  great  weight 
with  them.  He  was  a  safe  leader,  examined  every  subject 
with  candor,  and  had  the  courage  to  express  his  honest 
convictions.  In  1831-5,  he  represented  the  Berkshire 
district  in  the  State  Senate.  In  1834,  he  was  chosen 
trustee  of  Williams  College  and  held  this  trust  till  his 
death.  For  eight  years  he  was  also  district  attorney.  It 
was,  however,  in  his  family,  church  and  social  relations 
that  his  noble  nature  found  its  most  genial  action.  He 
loved  learning  and  did  much  to  build  up  the  educational 
interests  of  the  town.  His  widow  and  three  children 
survive  him.  One  son  is  a  professor  in  Beloit  College, 
Wisconsin,  and  the  other  is  a  paper  maufacturer  at 
Union ville,  Conn.  One  daughter  died  early,  and  the 
other  married  the  Hon.  Franklin  Chamberlin  of  Hart- 
ford, Conn. 

With  Mr.  Porter  studied  Edward  V.  Whiton,  son  of 
Cen.  Joseph  Whiton,  who,  after  his  admission  to  the  bar 
in  1831,  practiced  law  here  a  short  time  and  then  removed 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  OAo 

to  Janesville,  Wis.,  where  he  rose  to  the  high  position  of 
Chief  Justice  of  that  State. 

Franklin  Chamberlin,  a  native  of  Dalton,  also  studied 
law  with  Mr.  Porter,  married  his  daughter,  and  on  his 
admission  to  the  bar  in  1845,  became  a  partner  with 
his  father-in-law,  and  continued  practice  here  till  Mr. 
Porter's  death,  when  he  opened  an  office  in  New  York 
city. 

Marshall  Wilcox,  a  native  of  Stockbridge  and  a  gradu- 
ate of  Williams  College,  class  of  1844,  succeeded  to  the 
business  of  Messrs.  Porter  &  Chamberlin  in  1853.  Mr. 
Wilcox  studied  law  with  Mr.  Lester  Filley  of  Otis,  and 
practiced  with  Mr.  Filley  in  that  town  for  three  years 
previous  to  his  coming  to  Lee.  He  remained  here  six- 
teen years,  and  rose  to  the  front  rank  in  the  Berkshire 
bar.  While  a  resident  of  Lee,  he  represented  the  town 
with  honor  in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature.  In  1869 
he  removed  to  Pittsfield,  where  law  business  seemed  to 
center  after  the  removal  of  the  Court  House. 

Franklin  Sturgis,  a  native  of  Lee,  son  of  William  Stur- 
gis,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1830,  and  opened  an  of- 
fice first  at  East  Lee,  and  afterwards  at  the  Center.  Af- 
ter some  years  of  practice  his  health  failed  and  he  re- 
moved to  Lanesborough,  where  he  died. 

Lawson  D.  Bidwell,  a  native  of  Monterey  and  a  gradu- 
ate of  Williams,  class  of  1814,  studied  law  with  Augustus 
Sherrill  of  Stockbridge.  He  practiced  for  a  short  time  in 
his  native  town,  and  then  opened  an  office  in  South  Lee, 
where  he  remained  till  1851,  then  removing  to  Stockbridge 
and  giving  his  attention  to  agriculture.  He  died  in 
Stockbridge  in  1863,  aged  72. 

L.  D.  Brown,  a  native  of  Lee,  and  lor  a  time  a  paper 
manufacturer,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1841,  and  prac- 
ticed law  here  till  1850,  when  California  presented  a  more 
attractive  field  to  his  enterprising  genius.     He  embarked 


324  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

in  some  commercial  speculations  at  San  Francisco,  and 
supposed  he  had  secured  a  competence  for  life.  He  re- 
turned to  Lee  in  1854,  and  died  here  in  1858,  leaving  a 
wife  and  four  brilliant  daughters,  all  of  whom  have  since 
deceased. 

J.  F.  Cook,  N.  W.  Ayer,  and  T.  M.  Judd,  have  also 
practiced  law  here  for  a  short  time.  The  members  of  this 
profession  now  practicing  here  are  John  Branning,  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1845,  N.  W.  Shores,  admitted  in 
1860,  and  Edward  T.  Slocum,  admitted  in  1874.  Mr. 
Branning  practiced  law  in  Monterey  a  few  years  before 
coming  to  Lee,  and  represented  that  town  in  the  Legisla- 
ture. Since  his  residence  in  Lee  he  has  legislated  in  both 
branches  of  the  General  Court.  All  of  Mr.  Shores'  pro- 
fessional life  has  been  spent  in  Lee.  In  1875,  he  was 
elected  State  Senator  from  the  southern  Berkshire  district. 
Mr.  Slocum  is  a  native  of  Grafton,  Mass.,  graduated  at 
Amherst  in  1871,  at  the  Law  School  of  the  Boston  Uni- 
versity in  1874,  practiced  in  Boston  for  three  years, 
and  then  came  to  Lee. 

PHYSICIANS. 

Little  besides  the  names  is  known  of  the  first  two 
physicians  who  practiced  in  Lee.  Gideon  Thompson  was 
the  first,  a  native  of  Goshen,  Conn.  He  was  here  only  a 
few  years  and  removed  to  Galway,  N.  Y.  Dr.  Thompson 
was  followed  by  Dr.  Rathburn.  The  first  physician  who 
left  much  impress  upon  the  place  was  Dr.  Erastus  Sar- 
gent, Jr.,  son  of  Dr.  Erastus  Sargent,  of  Stockbridge,  and 
grandson  of  Rev.  John  Sargent,  the  first  missionary  to 
the  Stockbridge  Indians.  Dr.  Sargent,  Jr.,  was  born  at 
Stockbridge  in  1772,  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1792,  and  came  to  Lee  in  1794.  He  was  a  genial,  well- 
informed  man,  a  skillful  physician,  and  had  an  extensive 
practice  here,  but  being  more  faithful  in  administering 


THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE.  325 

medicine  than  in  collecting  his  debts,  never  accumulated 
much  property.  He  died  in  Lee  in  1832,  leaving  a  wife 
and  six  children,  who  afterward  moved  to  Indiana.  Mrs. 
Sargent  was  a  woman  of  culture,  and  the  children  all 
made  their  mark  in  the  world.  The  two  sons  were  suc- 
cessful business  men  in  Indiana,  the  oldest  daughter  was 
principal  of  a  female  seminary  in  Memphis,  Tenn.;  the 
other  three  married,  one  a  home  missionary,  the  second 
a  physician  and  the  youngest  a  lawyer.  The  first  grand- 
child, daughter  of  the  home  missionary,  is  now  the  wife 
of  Ex-Gov.  Bagley,  of  Michigan. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Thayer,  a  native  of  Boston  and  a  gentle- 
man of  culture,  settled  here  soon  after  Dr.  Sargeant,  but 
remained  only  a  few  years,  removing  to  Westfield, 
Mass.,  where  he  attained  some  eminence  and  died  much 
respected. 

Hubbard  Bartlett,  a  native  of  Richmond,  Mass.,  who 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Burghardt  of  that  town  and  at 
Dartmouth  Medical  College,  settled  in  Lee  as  a  physician 
in  1810,  and  soon  secured  the  confidence  and  respect  of 
this  community,  which  continued  and  increased  till  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1859,  at  the  age  of  77.  His 
professional  career  was  interrupted  by  severe  attacks  of 
rheumatism.  To  assist  in  earning  a  livelihood  he  accepted 
the  office  of  postmaster  in  1818,  and  held  it  for  27£  years. 
He  also  represented  the  town  in  the  Legislature  two 
years  (1825-6),  was  justice  of  the  peace  for  30  years 
(1829  to  1859),  parish  clerk  26  years  (1833  to  1859),  and 
deacon  in  the  Congregational  Church  30  years  (1829  to 
1859).  He  was  also  the  first,  and  for  many  years  the 
only  druggist  in  town,  his  little  shop  serving  the  triple 
purpose  of  dispensing  medicine,  mail  and  justice.  Here 
Messrs.  Porter  and  Sturgis  tried  their  little  cases,  here 
Mr.  Chamberlin  made  his  first  plea,  and  here  also  occa- 
sionally Messrs.  Bishop  of  Lenox,  Field  of  Stockbridge, 


326  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

and  Sumner  of  Great  Barrington,  put  forth  their  forensic 
powers.  In  looking  over  Dr.  Bartlett's  books,  it  is  curious 
to  notice  the  charges  for  medical  services,  the  visits  being 
charged  at  25  cents  to  50  cents,  medicine  included,  the 
physicians  of  that  time  always  carrying  in  their  saddle- 
bags a  miniature  apothecary  store.  In  the  matter  of 
postage  the  rates  were  higher  than  at  present,  being  6i- 
cents  for  any  distance  under  30  miles,  12£  cents  for  dis- 
tances between  30  and  100  miles,  18!  cents  between  100 
and  500  miles,  and  25  cents  for  any  greater  distance. 
For  these  sums  only  one  sheet  could  be  carried.  If  two 
pieces  of  paper  were  included,  or  even  a  bank-bill  put 
into  a  letter,  the  postage  was  doubled.  Envelopes  and 
postal  cards  were  things  unknown.  The  income  of  Dr. 
Bartlett  from  the  post-office  during  the  twenty-seven 
years  of  his  service  ranged  from  $20  per  annum  to  $450, 
and  this  though  his  labors  were  more  arduous  than  those 
of  postmasters  at  the  present  day,  as  the  mails  were 
transported  by  stages,  and  often  he  was  compelled  to 
arise  twice  in  the  night  to  receive  and  deliver  them,  and 
bills  were  sent  with  each  letter,  and  every  package  of 
letters  received  was  compared  with  the  accompanying 
bill,  a  record  being  kept  of  all  that  passed  in  and  out  of 
the  office.  With  such  high  rates  of  postage  the  mails 
were  comparatively  small,  but  the  letters  were  large  and 
full,  foolscap  sheets  being  commonly  used,  and  every 
available  space  on  the  paper  filled.  Few  newspapers 
were  carried  by  mail.  A  daily  paper  was  not  then  the 
daily  reading  of  countrymen,  and  the  county  papers  were 
distributed  from  house  to  house  by  carriers.  As  late  as 
1832  no  daily  paper  seems  to  have  been  taken  in  Lee, 
for  among  Dr.  Bartlett's  papers  after  his  death  was  found 
the  following,  which  well  illustrates  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  news  before  the  advent  of  railroads  and  tele- 
graphs : 


TI1E    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  327 

"Lee  July. 6,  1832 
Dr.  H.  Bartlett 

Dear  Sir  Anxious  to  be  informed  daily  of  the 
progress  of  cholera,  we  wish  to  have  a  Daily  Paper  taken  by  you 
from  New  York  for  3  or  6  months,  and  we  will  pay  you  for  the  privi- 
lege of  seeing  the  paper  the  sums  set  against  our  names 

Signed 


W.  &  W.  &  C.  Laflin 

75  cents 

E.  V.  Whiton 

25     " 

J.  &  L.  Church 

50     " 

Asa  G.  Welch 

75     " 

S.  &  A.  Hulbert 

25     " 

Tho's  Falls 

25     " 

Milton  Ingersoll 

25     " 

William  Cole 

25     " 

Ball,  Bassett  &  Co 

50     " 

Isaac  C.  Ives    " 

25     " 

Abner  Taylor 

25     " 

Wm  Porter  Jr. 

25     " 

J.  B.  Perry  " 

25     " 

The  idea  of  four  firms  and  nine  individuals  combining  less 
than  half  a  century  since,  to  take  a  daily  paper  for  three 
or  six  months,  strikes  the  present  generation  with  aston- 
ishment, as  the  average  citizen  now  considers  a  daily 
paper  almost  as  essential  as  his  daily  food. 

It  was  as  a  Christian  and  citizen,  that  Dr.  Bartlett  was 
most  esteemed.  For  thirty  years,  he  was  a  standard- 
bearer  in  the  Congregational  church,  and  in  this  and  all 
the  other  offices  of  life  he  was  faithful,  ever  ready  to  do 
his  full  part  in  every  enterprise  that  would  advance  the 
common  weal.  He  died  as  he  had  lived,  an  humble  Chris- 
tian with  full  confidence  in  his  Redeemer. 

Asa  G.  Welch,  a  native  of  Norfolk,  Conn,  came  to  Lee 
in  1827,  directly  from  Tyringham,  Mass.,  where  he  had 
been  practicing  medicine  for  thirteen  years.  He  soon 
secured  an  extensive  practice  here  and  retained  it  till  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1852  at  the  age  of  61,  leaving  a 
most  estimable  wife  but  no  children.     Dr.  Welch  was  the 


328  the  history  of  lee. 

son  of  a' physician  and  inherited  a  tact  for  his  profession. 
He  was  tall  and  stout  and  his  personal  appearance  such 
as  to  command  notice  in  any  public  assembly.  His  am- 
bition was  not  satisfied  with  success  in  his  chosen  profes- 
sion. He  aspired  also  to  prominence  in  political  matters, 
and  in  1835-6  he  represented  the  town  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  in  IS 51  was  elected  to  the  State  senate.  He 
was  also  one  of  the  original  directors  of  the  Lee  Bank 
and  held  the  position  till  his  death. 

With  Dr.  Welch  studied  Corydon  Guiteau,  a  native  of 
Norfolk,  who  received  his  diploma  from  the  Berkshire 
Medical  College  in  1830  and  immediately'  commenced 
practicing  here  with  his  teacher.  After  a  few  years,  Dr. 
Guiteau  opened  a  separate  office  and  continued  an  ex- 
tensive practice  till  his  death  in  1853.  Dr.  Guiteau  was 
of  Huguenot  descent  and  showed  his  French  extraction 
in  his  courteous  manners.  He  was  devoted  to  his  profes- 
sion, giving  little  attention  to  outside  studies  or  business 
matters,  but  most  faithful  to  his  patients  whom  he  at- 
tended with  an  untiring  zeal  and  perseverance.  Of  warm 
affections,  his  heart  was  broken  by  the  death  of  his  only 
daughter  and  child  in  1847.  He  lingered  in  feeble  health 
for  six  years  after  her  death,  often  visiting  patients  when 
he  needed  medicine  and  nursing  more  than  they.  His 
widow  still  survives,  living  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  Guiteau  was  succeeded  by  J.  B.  Whiting,  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Berkshire  Medical  College,  who  came  here 
from  Wolcottville,  Conn.,  and  stepped  into  a  good  prac- 
tice which  he  held  till  his  removal  to  Janesville,  Wiscon- 
sin, in  1860,  where  he  now  resides. 

John  B.  Gifford,  a  native  of  Lee  and  a  graduate  at 
the  Berkshire  Medical  College  opened  an  office  here  in 
1850  for  the  practice  of  Homeopathy.  He  also  manufac- 
tured the  Homeopathic  pillets  extensively,  and  was  quite 
enterprising  as  a  business  man,  securing  also  a  good  share 


RESIDENCE  OF  Dii.  C.  C.  HOLCOMBE. 


TflE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 


329 


of  practice  as  a  physician.  His  health  soon  failed  and  he 
died  in  1866. 

Besides  the  above,  many  physicians  have  practiced 
here  for  a  short  time  and  removed  to  other  places,  leaving 
no  great  impress  on  this  community,  but  some  of  them 
gaining  celebrity  in  other  fields.  _  We  must  not  however 
omit  to  mention  Dr.  Charles  McAllister  who  practiced  for 
many  years  in  South  Lee  and  then  removed  to  Stock- 
bridge. 

The  present  physicians  are  Eliphalet  Wright,  who  stud- 
ied with  Dr.  Welch  and  has  been  in  extensive  practice 
here  since  his  graduation  from  Berkshire  College  in  1841, 
except  the  few  years  he  spent  in  Granville  ;  C.  C.  Hol- 
combe,  son  of  Dr.  Vincent  Holcombe  of  Granville,  Mass., 
who  came  to  Lee  in  1 854,  and  has  an  extensive  ride  in 
this  and  neighboring  towns;  D.  M.  Wilcox,  who  settled 
here  in  1872,  and  has  a  good  practice  ;  C.  E.  Heath,  who 
was  for  many  years  a  practitioner  in  Monterey,  and  still 
having  an  extensive  ride  in  that  and  other  neighboring 
towns,  opened  an  office  in  Lee  in  1873  ;  and  C.  W.  Strat- 
ton,  who  has  been  in  the  successful  practice  of  homeopa- 
thy here  since  1868. 

POSTMASTERS. 

The  first  post-office  in  Berkshire  County  was  estab- 
lished in  Stockbridge  in  1792.  Jedediah  Crocker  was 
the  first  postmaster  in  Lee  (1803),  and  kept  his  office  at 
his  tavern  in  Cape  street  on  the  site  of  the  house  lately 
owned  by  John  Baker.  Mr.  Crocker  was  succeeded  by 
Richard  Brush  in  1811,  who  also  kept  a  public  house  on 
the  same  ground,  and  his  bar-room  served  for  a  tailor's 
shop  as  well  as  for  dealing  out  letters  and  liquors.  Rol- 
lin  C.  Dewey  succeeded  Mr.  Brush  in  1816  and  removed 
the  office  to  the  Center.  Mr.  Dewey  leaving  town,  John 
B.  Perry  was  appointed  in  1817,  but  resigned  after  a 
42 


330  TriE  nisTORY  of  lee. 

year's  service  in  favor  of  his  neighbor,  Dr.  Hubbard  Bart- 
lett,  who  held  the  office  for  272  years,  when  L.  D.  Brown 
took  it,  succeeded  in  1849  by  George  H.  Phelps,  in  1853 
by  A.  M.  Howk,  in  1861  by  Nathan  Gibbs,  in  1863  by 
Dr.  E.  Wright,  and  in  1874  by  J.  C.  Chaffee,  the  present 
incumbent.  What  the  income  of  the  post-master  was 
prior  to  Dr.  Bartlett's  day  can  not  be  ascertained,  but 
during  the  first  year  of  his  incumbency  it  was  $20,  and 
at  the  end  of  his  service  it  had  increased  to  $450.  The 
income  to  Government  for  1877  was,  including  box  rent, 
$3,364.27,  and  the  salary  of  the  postmaster  is  now  $1,700. 
In  1826,  a  post-office  was  established  at  South  Lee,  and 
in  1848,  one  at  East  Lee. 

ASSOCIATIONS. 

SOCIETY   FOR    THE    PROMOTION    OF    GOOD    MORALS. 

Lee  has  ever  been  famous  for  associated  and  united 
effort.  Certainly  this  has  been  the  case  since  the  healing 
of  the  breaches  occasioned  by  the  Shays'  Rebellion.  In 
few  towns  has  society  been  so  little  divided  into  what  has 
been  termed  the  upper  and  lower  crusts.  If  any  aristoc- 
racy has  existed  it  has  been  one  of  moral  worth  rather 
than  of  wealth.  All  classes  of  citizens  have  worked 
together  harmoniously  for  what  would  promote  the  com- 
mon weal,  and  when  associated  effort  was  necessary  all 
have  united,  and  as  one  put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel. 
As  an  example  of  this  may  be  instanced  "  The  Society 
for  the  Promotion  of  Good  Morals,"  established  here  in 
1814.  It  appears  from  the  records  of  this  society  found 
among  the  papers  of  the  late  Dr.  Bartlett  that  intemper- 
ance, Sabbath-breaking  and  profanity  were  at  that  time 
making  alarming  inroads  upon  the  community,  and  this 
society  was  organized  to  combat  these  vices,  for  the  sec- 
ond article  of  the  constitution  reads:  "The  members  of 


THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE.  ool 

this  society  shall  by  their  conversation  and  example  en- 
courage all  virtuous  conduct,  and  shall  discountenance 
vice  generally,  and  particularly  the  vices  of  Sabbath- 
breaking,  intemperance  in  the  nse  of  spirituous  liquors, 
and  profaneness."  In  the  third  article,  the  members 
pledged  themselves  to  furnish  the  poor  with  employment, 
"  that  indolence  may  not  betray  them  into  vice,"  and 
also  "  to  discourage  by  all  wise  and  discreet  measures 
the  unnecessary  use  of  ardent  spirits."  The  names  of 
nearly  a  hundred  citizens,  apparently  all  the  leading  men 
of  the  town,  are  found  appended  to  this  constitution. 
Dr.  Hyde  was  made  President  and  Dr.  Bartlett  Secretary 
of  this  moral  reform  club,  and  the  records  show  that 
efficient  work  was  done.  After  generations  have  doubt- 
less reaped  the  fruit  from  the  labors  of  this  association. 

THE  FIRST  TOWN    LIBRARY. 

Early  in  the  present  century,  the  leading  men  of  the 
town  combined  for  the  establishment  of  what  was  called 
a  "  town  library,"  but  it  was  really  a  proprietors'  library, 
as  none  were  permitted  to  draw  books  from  it  except 
owners  of  stock.  The  records  of  this  institution  cannot 
be  found,  but  it  is  known  to  have  done  great  service  in 
promoting  the  cause  of  education  and  good  morals  in  this 
community.  The  books,  some  300  volumes  in  all,  were 
mostly  of  the  staple  kind,  treating  of  history,  biography, 
travels,  science  and  religion.  Works  of  poetry  were 
scarce,  and  of  fiction  very  scarce.  Edward  V.  Whiton,  son 
of  Gen.  Joseph  Whiton,  was  at  one  time  librarian,  and 
being  fond  of  reading  perused  most  of  the  historical  books, 
and  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  the  eminence  in  the  legal 
profession  which  he  afterwards  attained,  becoming  Chief 
Justice  of  Wisconsin.  When  "  The  Young  Men's  Asso- 
ciation of  Lee  "  was  organized  in  1852,  the  books  remain- 
ing in  this  old  library  were  transferred  by  the  consent  of 


661  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

the  few  remaining  proprietors  to  this  society,  and  formed 
a  nucleus  for  a  new  library. 

THE  LEE  BANK 

was  incorporated  1835.  June  10,  George  Hull,  of  San- 
disfield,  was  chosen  President;  July  31,  John  C.  Furber, 
Cashier.  The  capital  stock  was  $50,000,  increased  at 
various  times  till  it  amounted  to  $300,000.  In  1864  this 
was  reduced  to  $210,000,  which  is  the  present  capital. 
After  four  years'  service,  Mr.  Hull  resigned,  and  since 
then  there  have  served  as  President,  William  A. 
Phelps,  elected  1839 ;  Walter  Laflin,  1841 ;  Leonard 
Church,  1844  ;  Thomas  Sedgwick,  1856 ;  Harrison  Gar- 
field, 1862.  The  Cashiers  have  been  after  Mr.  Furber, 
Thomas  Green,  chosen  1840,  Edmund  D.  Chapin,  1848, 
Edward  A.  Bliss,  1850;  John  M.  Howk,  1862,  John  L. 
Kilbon,  1868.  This  bank  was  never  more  successfully 
operated  than  under  the  present  administration. 

THE  LEE  SAVINGS    BANK. 

This  institution  was  chartered  March  5,  1852,  and 
commenced  business  in  June  following.  Hon.  Harrison 
Garfield  has  been  the  President,  with  the  exception  of 
the  first  year,  when  William  Porter  Esq.,  was  chosen. 
The  Cashiers  of  the  Lee  Bank  have  been  also  the  Treas- 
urers of  the  Saving  Bank.  There  are  now  (1877),  1,479 
depositors,  and  $483,335.59  on  deposit.  This  Institution 
has  the  entire  confidence  of  the  community. 

YOUNG  MEN'S  ASSOCIATION. 

This  society  was  organized  in  1852  "  for  the  purpose  of 
improving  the  moral  and  intellectual  condition  of  the 
young  men  by  means  of  a  library,  reading-room,  lectures 
and  debates."  It  was  regularly  chartered  in  1853,  and 
for  some  years  maintained  a  reading-room  and  a  course  of 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  333 

lectures  and  had  gathered  a  library  of  400  volumes.  The 
reading-room  and  library  were  in  a  pleasant  room  in 
Church's  block,  and  were  open  at  all  hours  of  the  day  to 
the  public.  The  fire  which  destroyed  this  block  and  the 
Congregational  Church  in  1857,  burned  also  the  books 
and  all  the  property  of  this  Association  and  put  an  end  to 
its  existence.  The  lecture  system  of  education  has  never 
been  popular  in  Lee.  Since  the  enterprise  of  the  Young 
Men's  Association  in  this  line,  courses  of  lectures  have 
been  attempted  by  individuals,  but  with  only  partial  suc- 
cess. 

THE  LEE  BAND  AND  BAND  ASSOCIATION. 

The  music  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  Lee  was  mostly 
of  the  vocal  kind.  Singing  schools  were  frequent  and 
well  patronized,  but  in  the  first  half  century  of  the 
town's  history  instrumental  music  was  pretty  much 
tabooed.  A  fiddle  was  considered  the  instrument  of  the 
Evil  One,  and  when  Captain  Landers  brought  his  bass- 
viol  into  the  church,  many  regarded  it  as  sacrilegious.  It 
is  within  the  memory  of  many  now  living  when  pianos 
were  introduced.  The  first  band  was  organized  in  1857, 
by  A.  V.  Shannon,  then  a  youth  just  out  of  his  teens,  and 
possessing  a  great  talent  for  music,  which  he  had  well 
cultivated.  This  band,  called  Shannon's  Brass  Band,  was 
cordially  welcomed  by  the  public  and  furnished  with 
uniforms.  Out  of  this  organization  grew  the  present  Lee 
Cornet  Band,  which  confessedly  stands  at  the  head  of  sim- 
ilar companies  in  the  county,  having  taken  the  first 
premium  in  all  competitive  trials.  In  1875,  a  beautiful 
uniform  was  furnished  the  Band  by  an  appreciative  public, 
and  a  Band  Association  was  organized,  consisting  of 
nearly  one  hundred  citizens  who  agreed  to  be  assessed, 
not  to  exceed  $3  each  annually,  to  provide  instruments 
and  pay  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  musicians.  Mr. 
Elizur  Smith  was  the  first  President  ol  this  Association, 


334  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Wellington  Smith,  the  present 
incumbent.  At  the  annual  meeting,  the  Band  furnish  a 
free  concert  to  the  members  and  their  friends.  To  Capt. 
A.  V.  Shannon,  who  combines  great  executive  ability 
with  musical  talent,  much  credit  is  due  for  organizing 
and  directing  this  band  without  remuneration  and  at 
much  personal  sacrifice. 

THE    LEE    FERN    CLIFF    ASSOCIATION. 

This  village  improvement  society  was  instituted  in  1873, 
the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Gale  taking  an  active  part  in  organiz- 
ing it,  and  becoming  its  first  President.  The  objects  of 
the  society  as  set  forth  in  the  constitution  are,  u  To  or- 
nament and  improve  the  public  streets  and  squares  by 
planting  shade  trees,  keeping  the  sidewalks  clean  and  in 
repair,  and  by  other  means  by  which  the  town  may  be 
rendered  beautiful,  healthy  and  comfortable."  On  the 
third  Tuesday  of  August  the  association  holds  its  annual 
meeting  on  Fern  Cliff,  at  which  time  the  officers  are 
elected  and  an  address  delivered.  At  the  first  annual 
meeting  in  1874  Professor  Tenney  was  the  orator.  The 
orators  in  succeeding  years  have  been  Dr.  George  B. 
Loring  in  1875,  Professor  L.  Pratt  and  Governor  Rice  in 
1876,  and  Rev.  Dr.  H.  M.  Field  in  1877.  Among  the 
improvements  inaugurated  in  the  village  by  this  associa- 
tion may  be  mentioned  the  lighting  of  the  streets,  better 
sidewalks,  the  removal  of  litter  from  the  roads  and  ditches 
clean  lawns  and  tidy  fences,  and  in  some  few  instances  the 
abolition  of  fences.  The  Presidents  since  Dr.  Gale  have 
been  Elizur  Smith,  Rev.  P.  A.  Nordell  and  Wellington 
Smith. 

THE    LEE    LIBRARY    ASSOCIATION. 

April  27,  1874  a  meeting  of  citizens  was  called  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  Library  Association  and  estab- 
lishing a  Public   Library.     Harrison  Garfield  was  chosen 


THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE.  335 

Chairman  of  this  meeting  and  John  Stallman  Secretary, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  constitution 
and  by-laws,  and  all  necessary  steps  were  taken  to  organ- 
ize a  corporation  under  the  act  of  1872  in  reference  to 
the  establishment  of  public  libraries  and  reading  rooms. 
At  an  adjourned  meeting  May  4,  the  constitution  was 
adopted  and  a  Board  of  Directors  chosen,  viz. :  Harrison 
Garfield,  Elizur  Smith,  Nahum  Gale,  W.  W.  Sever,  Na- 
than Gibbs,  Alexander  Hyde  and  Abner  Rice.  At  a  sub- 
sequent meeting  of  the  Directors  Harrison  Garfield  was 
chosen  President,  Dr.  Gale  Vice-president,  John  Stallman 
Clerk,  and  J  L.  Kilbon  Treasurer.  The  town  had  previ- 
ously voted  to  appropriate  the  dog-tax  money  for  a  pub- 
lic library,  and  individuals  had  pledged  liberal  sums  for 
the  same  purpose,  Messrs.  H.  Garfield  and  E.  Smith  of  this 
town  $500  each,  and  Edward  N.  Gibbs  of  Norwich,  Conn., 
the  same  amount.  A  committee  appointed  to  solicit  fur- 
ther subscriptions  met  with  a  cordial  response  from  the 
citizens  and  former  residents.  Among  the  largest  donors 
may  be  mentioned  Wellington  Smith  $200,  P.  C.  Baird 
$100,  W.  H.  Hamblin  $100,  W.  B  Wood  of  Boston  $100, 
G.  F.  Perkins  of  New  York  $100,  Samuel  and  Julia  Hebe- 
ner  of  Philadelphia  $100,  Charles  T.  Lockhart  of  New 
York  $50,  Charles  Taylor  of  New  York  a  set  of  Appleton's 
Encyclopaedia,  and  H.  S.  Hulbert  of  New  York  a  very 
fine  carpet  for  the  library  room.  In  all,  over  $3,000 
have  been  contributed  to  this  object  and  a  library  of 
about  3,000  volumes,  mostly  a  choice  selection  of  books, 
has  been  provided,  which  is  open  to  theTree  use  of  every 
individual  in  town  over  twelve  years  of  age.  The  town 
has  granted  to  the  Association  the  use  of  two  large 
rooms  in  Memorial  Hall,  which  have  been  furnished  in 
good  style,  mainly  by  gifts  of  citizens.  The  Library  is 
an  educational  institution  of  which  the  town  may  wrell  be 
proud.     The  community  generally  appreciate  its  value, 


336  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

and  the  drawers  of  books  now  number  about  a  thousand. 
J.  C.  Chaffee  has  been  the  librarian  from  the  start,  and 
the  town  usually  appropriates,  besides  the  dog-fund,  some 
$250  annually  for  the  purchase  of  new  books  and  the 
salary  of  the  librarian. 

THE    LEE    FARMERS'    CLUB. 

This  association  was  organized  in  1862  by  some  thirty 
of  the  leading  farmers  of  the  town  and  has  maintained  a 
vigorous  existence  from  that  time  to  the  present.  The 
object  of  this  society  is  the  advancement  of  agriculture 
by  means  of  lectures,  essays,  discussions  and  books.  A 
library  of  about  300  volumes  consisting  mostly  of  works 
on  agriculture,  had  been  collected,  when  the  town  library 
was  started  in  1874,  and  the  club  donated  their  books  to 
the  latter  institution.  The  meetings  are  held  fortnightly 
during  the  Winter  and  intermitted  during  the  busy 
months  of  Summer.  Occasionally,  social  sessions  are  held 
at  the  houses  of  members,  when  ladies  are  admitted. 
The  club  has  done  good  service  to  the  agriculture  of  the 
town,  and  incidentally  has  been  of  benefit  by  stimulating 
thought  and  encouraging  its  expression,  and  by  cultiva- 
ting social  and  neighborly  graces.  Alexander  Hyde  was 
the  first  President  of  the  club,  and  John  A.  Decker  is  the 
present  incumbent  of  this  office. 

FREE    MASONS. 

The  Evening  Star  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons 
was  constituted  in  Lee  by  charter  from  the  Grand  Lodge 
of  Massachusetts,  October  10,  1795,  and  has  included 
among  its  members  many  of  the  best  citizens  of  this  and 
neighboring  towns.  Its  first  Master  was  Judge  William 
Walker  of  Lenox,  whose  name  alone  was  sufficient  to 
give  character  to  the  Lodge.  The  present  Master  is 
Alonzo  Bradley.     This  association  has  a  large  and  well- 


TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE.  337 

furnished  hall  in  Northrup's  block,  where  its  meetings 
are  held  regularly  with  a  good  attendance.  The  Lodge 
now  numbers  80  members. 

THE    LEE    HIBERNIAN    SOCIETY 

Was  organized  in  1860,  auxiliary  to  the  National  Ancient 
Order  of  Hibernians.  Its  purposes  are  social  and  benev- 
olent. Over  $200  have  been  expended  annually  in  aid 
of  its  poor  members.  The  present  membership  is  80, 
and  its  officers  are  :  President,  J.  D.  McCarthy;  Secretary, 
Thomas  Norton. 

THE    LEE    PLEASURE-PARK   ASSOCIATION 

Was  organized  in  1869  with  a  capital  stock  of  $5,000  for 
the  purpose  of  purchasing  a  suitable  plot  of  ground  for  a 
race-course.  Such  a  plot  was  bought  on  the  banks  of  the 
Housatonic,  about  a  mile  south  of  the  village,  and  a 
track,  fences,  sheds,  etc.  built.  P.  C.  Baird  was  the  first 
President,  and  John  Stallman  the  first  Secretary  and 
Treasurer.  The  present  officers  (1877)  are  H.  W.  T. 
Mali  of  Stockbridge,  President,  and  George  K.  Baird  of 
Lee,  Secretary  and  Treasurer.  The  par  value  of  the 
stock  is  $50  per  share  and  74  shares  have  been  purchased. 
This  association  is  out  of  debt  and  has  a  small  surplus  in 
the  treasury. 

For  an  account  of  the  missionary  and  other  benevolent 
associations  of  the  town  see  the  Ecclesiastical  History. 

OFFICIAL  AND   STATISTICAL. 

From  the  town  records  it  appears,  that  our  fathers  be- 
lieved in  representation  by  representative  men,  rather 
than  in  the  modern  doctrine  of  rotation  in  office.  Eben- 
ezer  Jenkins  was  the  first  representative  of  the  town  at 
General  Court,  elected  in  1783,  and  re-elected  the  three 
43 


338  THE    HISTOKY    OF    LEE. 

following  years,  and  in  all  represented  the  town  eight 
years.  From  the  time  of  incorporation  (1777)  to  1814, 
only  three  gentlemen  besides  Mr.  Jenkins  were  elected 
to  the  Legislature,  viz.,  Josiah  Yale  six  years,  Jared 
Bradley  seven  years  and  Joseph  Whiton  nine  years. 
Since  1820  the  town  has  been  represented  by  almost  as 
many  men  as  there  have  been  years.  In  dispensing  town 
offices  the  same  principle  seems  to  have  been  observed. 
Squire  Yale  served  twenty  years  on  the  board  of  select- 
men ;  John  Nye  twenty-two  ;  Joseph  Whiton  ten.  Prince 
West  was  the  first  town  clerk  and  served  five  years  in 
this  office ;  Nathan  Dillingham  served  thirteen  years ; 
Daniel  Wilcox  twelve;  Hubbard  Bartlett  fifteen,  and 
Ransom  Hinman  twenty-one.  The  following  table  gives 
the  names  of  the  men  whom  the  town  has  delighted  to 
honor  with  its  most  important  offices,  and  also  the  votes 
of  the  two  candidates  for  Governor  who  received  the 
highest  number : 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 


339 


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THE    niSTORY    OF    LEE. 


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THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 


341 


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342  TIIE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

STATE  SENATORS. 

The    following   Lee  gentlemen  have   served  as  State 
Senators : 

Joseph  Whiton,  in  1813  and  1814. 
William  Porter,  "  1834  "  1835. 
Samuel  A.  Hulbert,  in  1846  and  1847. 


Asa  G.  Welch, 

a 

1851. 

William  Taylor, 

<( 

1856    " 

1857. 

John  Branning, 

(i 

1858    " 

1859. 

Marshall  Wilcox, 

a 

1868. 

P.  C.  Baird, 

a 

1872    " 

1873. 

Norman  W.  Shores, 

tc 

1876. 

Harrison  Garfield, 

ce 

1877. 

COUNTY    COMMISSIONERS. 

The  following  have  been  honored  with  a  seat  on  the 
Board  of  County  Commissioners : 

John  Nye,  1846  to  1852. 

Edward  S.  May,  1870  to  1872. 

John  Stallman,  elected  for  three  years  in  1876. 


L.  D.  Brown,  1855-6. 

Isaac  C.  Ives,  1857  to  1875. 

Moses  H.  Pease,  1875,  present  incumbent. 


RESIDENCE  OF  JOHN  STALLMAN. 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 


343 


2  S 

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New  Orleans,  La. 
Morehead  City,  N.  C. 
Warren  Station,  Va. 
Fort  Wagner,  S.  C. 
Fort  Pike,  La. 
Ohantilly,  Va. 
Wilderness,  Va. 
Cold  Harbor,  Va. 
Wilderness,  Va. 
Andersonville,  Ga. 
Andersonville,  Ga. 
Fortress  Monroe,  Va. 
Stockbridge,  Mass. 
Annapolis,  Md. 
New  Haven,  Ct. 
Readville,  Mass. 
Port  Hudson,  La. 
Saylor's  Creek,  Va. 
Port  Hudson,  La. 
New  Orleans,  La. 
Newbern,  N.  C. 
Andersonville,  Ga. 
Gaines  Mills,  Va. 
Petersburg,  Va. 
Fort  Pike,  La. 
Cedar  Mountain,  Va. 
Pittsfield,  Mass. 

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5 

June                  3 
November         6 
February         28 
July                 18 
September        4 
September         1 
May                    6 
June                  4 
May                    6 
December         1 
October           26 
March              19 
February         28 
April                18 
August            18 
June                 12 
May                 25 
April                  6 
May                 27 
June                  5 
March              14 
August             15 
June                24 
June                  9 
November         6 
August               9 
May                  23 

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1862,  October           28 
1864,  February         15 
1864,  September        2 

1863,  March               30 
1861,  November      18 

1861,  August            19 

1864,  January           25 

1864,  April                18 

1862,  August            30 

1863,  December       24 

1863,  December       29 

1865,  February           9 
1862,  September        2 
1862,  August            30 
1862,  October           28 
1805,  February           9 

1861,  November       20 

1864,  January             5 

1862,  October           28 
1801,  December         2 

1861,  September      20 
1864,  January           25 

1862,  August            30 
1862,  January             5 
1861,  May                 25 
1861,  June                21 

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Beach,  Henry  L., 
Benedict,  George  H.,    . 
Bliss,  Quinton    F., 
Burgbardt,  Henry  F., 
Burnick,  Thomas, 
Claflin,  John  R., 
Collins,  Henry  A., 
Combs,  Edgar  H  ,  2d  Lieut 
Coop,  Edward  W., 
Dolan,  Hugh, 
Evans,  Henry  M  , 
Fisher,  Hervey,    . 
Foley,  William,    . 
Freeman,  Charles  W  , 
Fuller,  John  M.,  . 
Gifford,  Henry  A., 
Harrington,  John, 
Henderson,  Wm   H.,    . 
Ingersoll,  Eugene  L  ,    . 
Ingram,  Lyman  J., 
Jackson,  Edwin  A., 
Jaquins.  Egbert  J  , 
Keily,  Patrick,      . 
Keyes,  Michael,   . 
Lemley,  Horace, 
Livingston,  Asher  I ,    . 
Merrill,  John  H., 

344 


THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 


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THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 


345 


POPULATION,  PROPERTY  AND  PRODUCTS. 

The  following  table  shows  the  increase  of  population, 
polls  and  property  by  decades  as  far  back  as  the  records 
of  the  town  give  these  statistics : 


1791. 

1800. 

1810. 

1820. 

1830. 

1840. 

Population,  . 

1,170 

1,267 

1,305 

1,384 

1,825 

2,428 

Polls,   . 

310 

372 

611 

Valuation,   . 

$283,369 

$321,211 

$594,796 

1850. 


Population, 
Polls,    . 
Valuation, 


3,220 
794 

$868,727 


1860. 


1870. 


1875. 


4,420  3,860  |         3,900 

949  866  987 

$1,807,191  #1,666,719  j$l,945,502 


1877. 


954 
$1,892,098 


The  State  census  for  1875  gives  the  value  of  the  prod- 
ucts of  manufactures  of  Lee  for  that  year  as  $1,616,760, 
and  the  agricultural  products  as  $116,682.  Of  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  town  864  were  foreign-born,  105  were 
blacks,  8  were  paupers,  285  were  engaged  in  agriculture 
and  687  in  manufactures.  The  number  of  dwellings  was 
707,  the  number  of  families  858,  and  the  number  of 
voters  821. 

CONCLUSION. 

This  cursory  review  of  the  first  century  of  Lee  is  full 
of  encouragement.  The  town,  small  in  its  beginnings 
and  of  slow  growth  in  the  first  decades  of  its  existence, 
has  made  for  itself  a  name,  not  only  as  a  place  of  busi- 
ness enterprise,  but  for  its  social,  literary  and  religious 
institutions,  and  more  especially  for  the  high-toned 
character  of  its  citizens.  "  Men,"  it  has  been  well  said, 
"  are  the  chief  product  and  the  crowning  glory  of  every 
44 


346  THE    HISTORY    OF    LEE. 

place."  Our  fathers  have  bequeathed  us  a  rich  inheri- 
tance in  our  churches,  schools,  library,  and  other  appli- 
ances for  developing  manhood,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
present  generation  to  transmit  them  unimpaired  to  the 
next  century. 


INDEX 


Academy,  History  of,  256. 

Adams,  R   K.,  15. 

Address  of  Welcome,  by  Mr.  Rice,  8. 

Address  of  Prof.  E.  H.  Barlow,  11. 

Address  of  Welcome,  by  Mr   Taylor,  43. 

Address  by  Wm.  Hyde,  46. 

Address  of  F.  Chamberlin,  50. 

African  Church,  244. 

Agriculture,  274. 

Albee&  Moore,  312-313. 

Albee  &  Sabin,  312. 

Andrews,  Rev.  Dr.  I.  W.,  8-14-32-257. 

Andrews,  S  J.,  14. 

Angles,  Battle  of,  177. 

Anthem,  Miss  Holder's,  49. 

Antique  Procession,  39. 

Appropriations  for  Poads,  263. 

Associations,  330. 

Austin,  N  ,  158. 

Ayre,  N.  W.,  324. 


Babcock,  H.  S.,  Poem  by,  86. 

Baird,  P.  C,  299-335. 

Baker,  David,  193-207-313. 

Ball,  Rev   Charles,  14-17. 

Ball,  Bassett  &  Co.,  281. 

Ball  &  Baldwin,  305. 

Ball,  Nathan,  186-188. 

Band,  Lee  Cornet,  5-333. 

Band  Association,  333. 

Bank,  Lee  National,  332. 

Bank,  Lee  Savings,  332. 

Baptist  Church,  245. 

Barlow,  Prof  E.  H.,  7-11. 

Barlow,  Lemuel,  154. 

Barlow,  Cornelius,  301. 

Bartlett,  W.  J.,  36. 

Bartlett,  Col.  Wm.,  179. 

Bartlett,  Dr.  H.,  325-330. 

Bassett,  A.  P.,  18. 

Bassett,  Charles,  36-170. 

Bassett,  Cornelius,  145-154-314. 

Bassett,  Nathan,  152-237-314. 

Bassett,  Col.  C.  F.,  173. 

Beartown  Mountain,  111. 

Beach  &  Royce,  286. 

Belden,  Caleb,  224. 

Bentley,  Rev.  Dr.  E.  W.,  35-85-200. 


Bennington,  Battle  of,  151. 

Benedict,  Aaron,  186. 

Benevolent  Operations,  221. 

Benton  Brothers,  296. 

Benton,  Caleb,  296. 

Berkshire  &  Columbia  Miss.  Soc,  221. 

Berkshire  County,  50. 

Berkshire  Bible  Society,  222. 

Berkshire  Agricultural  Society,  275. 

Berkshire  Democrat,  318. 

Bidwell,  L.  D.,  323. 

Birds,  113 

Blauvelt  &  Gillmor,  300. 

Bond.  Rev.  W.  B.,  218. 

Bos  worth  &  Tanner,  311-313. 

Boundaries,  116. 

Bounties,  172. 

Bowles,  Rev.  R.  H .,  247. 

Bradley,  Miss  S.  M.,  14. 

Bradley,  J.  E  ,  38. 

Bradley,  Josiah,  155. 

Bradley,  Capt.  Jesse,  155. 

Bradley,  Wm.,  155. 

Bradley,  Capt.  T.  E.  M.,  167-307. 

Bradley,  Luther,  170. 

Bradley,  Capt.  T.  S.,  181. 

Bradley,  Joel,  235. 

Bradley,  Geo.  F.,  305. 

Bradley,  Eli,  313. 

Branning,  John,  169-324. 

Branning,  Miss  L.  S.,  16. 

Brennan,  Rev.  G.  H.,  251. 

Bridges,  265. 

Bronson,  Rev.  Asa,  247. 

Brown,  L.  D.,  323-330. 

Brown,  Miss  L  B.,  15. 

Brush,  R.,  329. 

Buildings,  County,  138. 

Bull,  Rev.  N.,  55. 

Bullard,  C.  B.,  7-37. 

Bullard  &  Hinckley,  307. 

Burchard,  Amos,  278. 

Burial,  First,  144. 

Business,  changes  in,  182. 


Camp  Briggs,  171. 
Canning,  E.  W.  B. 
Cape  Street,  144. 
Carpets,  191. 


Ode  of,  42. 


348 


INDEX. 


Carriage  Business,  285. 

Carding  Machines,  286. 

Cashiers  of  Lee  Bank,  332. 

Catholic  Church,  151. 

Cattle,  Marks  of,  188. 

Cattle  Restrained,  188. 

Cemetery,  271. 

Centennial,  3-39. 

Centennial,  Committee  of,  4-98. 

Centre  Hotel,  320. 

Central  Berkshire  Chronicle,  319. 

Chadwick,  Joseph,  318. 

Chaffee,  J.  C,  330. 

Chaffee  &  Hamblin,  297. 

Chaffee,  Prentiss,  297. 

Chair-Stuff,  281. 

Chamberlin,  F.,  4-36-84-323. 

Chamberlin,  Miss  M.,  14. 

Chanter,  VVm.,  139-186. 

Chapman,  Rev.  Dr.  G.  T.,  249. 

Chapel,  Congregational,  235. 

Cheney,  R.  B.,  307. 

Childs,  Job,  146. 

Church,  Congregational,  208. 

Church,  Alterations  of,  234. 

Church  Edifices,  226. 

Church  Bells,  234. 

Church,  J.  &  L.,  309. 

Church,  Leonard,  33. 

Church,  Luman,  296. 

Church,  Samuel,  167-289. 

Church,  Connection  of  with  Town,  68- 

238. 
Church  of  1780.  228. 
Church  of  1»00,  230. 
Church  of  1857,  236. 
Church  at  South  Lee,  240. 
Clark,  Rev.  S    D.,  219. 
Clark,  J.  P.,  319. 
Climate,  115. 
Clocks,  Wooden,  191. 
Coal  Business,  305. 
Coe,  Alvan,  321. 
Coffy,  John,  57. 
Cole,  Wm.,  320. 
Collins,  Augustus,  322. 
Colonizing  a  New  Church,  223. 
Comstock,  A.  &  E  ,  317. 
Cone,  H.  D  ,  296. 
Congregational  Parish,  239. 
Continental  Currency,  59. 
Constitution  of  State,  161. 
Constitution  of  Alumni  of  High  School, 

38. 
Conclusion,  345. 
Contributions  for  Soldiers,  175. 
Cook,  J.  F.,  324. 
Couch  &  Clark,  300. 
Couch  &  Oakley,  302. 
Couch  &  Reed,  310. 
County  Buildings,  138. 
Creed  of  Congregational  Church,  63. 
Crocker,  Jedediah,  329. 
Crocker,  Capt.  Joseph,  114. 


Crocker,  Capt.  T.,  165. 
Crosby,  John,  143-145. 
Cuddihy,  Rev.  P.,  251. 
Culver,  W.  L.,  303. 


Daily  Paper,  327. 

Danforth,  Rev.  J.  N.,  216. 

Daniels,  H.  E  ,  15-17. 

Dawes,  H.  L.,  82. 

Davis,  Hope,  186. 

Davis,  Isaac,  53-57. 

Delaney,  John,  8. 

Deming,  Lt.  B.  C,  179. 

Dewey';  R.  C  ,  322-329. 

Dillingham,  N.,  145-280-307. 

Dillingham  &  Fessenden,  308. 

Dinner  Speeches,  32-82. 

Distilleries,  280. 

District  School  System,  254. 

Diversions  of  Early  Settlers,  195. 

Dodgetown,  144-277. 

Dowd,  J.  &  R.  J.,  301. 

Drafts  of  1863-4,  173-174. 

Dress,  Style  of,  in  Early  Times,  192. 

Dresser  &  Co.,  306. 

Drinking  Customs,  199-272. 

Duck  Factory,  283. 

Durant,  T.  C,  308. 

Dwellings,  Number  of,  345. 


Eagan,  Rev.  P.,  251. 
Earlv  Settlements,  118. 
Early  Social  Life,  67. 
Ecclesiastical  History,  206. 
Educational  History,  252. 
Edwards,  Hev.  Dr.  J.,  55. 
Edwards,  Miss  E.,  14. 
Eldridge,  T.  P.,  311. 
Eldridge  &  Northrup,  300. 
Ellis,  John,  161. 
Ellis,  Sarah,  L59. 
Emigration,  164. 

Episcopal  Church,  249  ;   Rectors  of,  250 
Statistics  of,  251. 


Families,  Number  of,  345. 
Family  Traditions,  143. 
Farmers'  Club,  336. 
Farm  Life,  194. 
Feather  Beds,  190. 
Federalists,  162. 
Fern  Cliff,  6. 

Fern  Cliff  Association,  334. 
Ferry,  J.  W.,  85-310-313. 
Fessenden,  C.  T,  195. 
Fessenden,  Miss  Lucy,  215. 
Field,  M  D.,  317. 
Fire  District,  273. 
Fire  of  1S57,  235. 


INDEX. 


349 


First  Representatives,  337. 

Fish,  VV.  T.,  310. 

Fletcher,  Miss  H.  N,  15. 

Flint,  Rev.  Dr.  E.,  15. 

Foote,  Elisha,  309. 

Foote,  T.  L.,  32. 

Foote,  Jonathan,  57-140-186. 

Foote,  Asahel,  Letter  of,  93. 

Foote,  Fenner,  154. 

Foote,  Lovisa,  159. 

Foote  &  Hinman,  283. 

Forest  Engine  Co.,  273. 

Forest  Mill,  296. 

Forge,  278. 

Forty-Ninth  Regiment,  1 79. 

Fowler,  Rev.  A.,  209. 

Free  Masons,  336. 

Freese,  John,  145. 

Fredericksburg,  Battle  of,  175. 

French,  Charles,  318. 

French  &  Royce,  319. 

Frissell,  Mrs.  M.  M..  7-27. 

Frissell,  Dr.  M.  M.,  88. 

Fuller,  B.,  316. 

Fulling  Mills,  280. 

Furniture,  191. 


Gale,  Rev.  A.,  52-54-246. 

Gale,  Rev.  Dr.  N.,  3-18-48-185-219. 

Garfield,  Captain  E.,  123. 

Garfield,  H.,  4-40-296-335. 

Gates,  Charles,  182. 

General  Muster,  166. 

Geology  of  Lee,  114. 

Gettysburg,  Battle  of,  176. 

Gibbs,  N,  4-330. 

Gibbs,  Miss  M.  E.,  15-16. 

Gibbs,  H.  R.,  37. 

Gibbs,  F.  W.,  306. 

Gibbs,  S.  &  N,  310. 

Gibbs,  E.  N,  335. 

Gifford,  Dr.  J.  B.,  328. 

Gifford,  Jesse,  186. 

Gillmor,  James,  300. 

Glassworks  Grant,  56-133. 

Goodman,  R.,  83. 

Goodspeed,  A.,  146. 

Goodspeed,  J.,  143. 

Goodspeed,  Sarah,  146. 

Gospel,  Tax  for,  239. 

Grain,  Value  of,  149. 

Grammar  School,  259. 

Greeting  by  H.  Garfield,  40. 

Grist-mill,  First,  277. 

Gross,  F.  S  ,  304. 

Guiteau,  Dr.  C,  328. 


H 

Hall,  Dr.  W.,  7. 

Hall,  Rev.  T.  A.,  15-17-258 

Hall,  Mrs.  T.  A.,  15. 


Hall  &  Whipple,  6-81. 

Halsey,  S.  V.,  7-260. 

Hamblin,  Job,  145-186. 

Hamblin,  Captain  P.,  159. 

Hamblin,  W.  P.,  167. 

Hamblin,  W.  H.,  297-335. 

Handy,  Joseph,  155. 

Harding,  A.  G.,  311. 

Harding,  James.  319. 

Harris,  Rev.  W.  W.,  249. 

Hartwood,  126. 

Heaphy,  Thomas,  6. 

Heath,  Dr.  C.  E.,  329. 

Heath,  Orton,  300. 

Heebner,  Charles,  250-303. 

Heebner,  S.  &  J.,  335. 

High  School,  6-19-257. 

High  School,  Branch  of  at  S.  Lee,  259. 

Highways,  263. 

Hibernians,  Society  of,  337. 

Hill,  W.  H,  319. 

Hinman,  R.,  18-202. 

Historical  Address,  50. 

Hog-reeves,  188. 

Holcombe,  Dr.  C.  C,  329. 

Holcombe,  Dr.  W.  F.,  39. 

Holder,  Miss  P.  A.,  15-31-34-49. 

Hollister,  G.  J.,  226. 

Holmes,  A.  M.,  306. 

Hopbrook,  112. 

Hopkins,  Rev.  Dr.  M.,  42. 

Hoplands,  53-124-260. 

Horton,  H.  N,  39. 

Horse-sheds,  236. 

Housatonic  River,  51-111. 

Houses,  Style  of,  189. 

Housatonic  Agricultural  Society,  275. 

Housatonic  House,  320. 

Housatonic  Railroad,  266. 

Howk,  Richard,  57-141. 

Howk,  William,  91. 

Howk,  Isaac,  141. 

Howk,  Abraham,  213. 

Howk,  John,  308. 

Howk,  A.  M.,  330. 

Hubbard,  E.  A.,  14-33. 

Hubbard,  Mrs.  E.  A.,  14. 

Hulbert,  S.  A.,  18-69-266-285. 

Hulbert,  Charles,  33-291. 

Hulbert,  A.  G.,  88-92-285. 

Hulbert,  S.  &  A.,  285. 

Hulbert,  H.  C,  335. 

Hulett,  John,  231. 

Hull,  Mrs.  George,  93. 

Hull  &  Dresser,  306. 

Hunt,  Addison,  36. 

Hurlbut,  Thomas,  294. 

Hurlbut  Paper  Co.,  294. 

Hyde,  Kev.  Dr.  A.,  47-65-198-212. 

Hyde,  William,  46-89. 

Hyde,  Alex.,  13-18-36-84. 

Hyde,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  M.,  4-56. 

Hyde,  Miss  M.  R.,  7. 

Hyde,  Captain  G.  H.,  171-175. 


350 


INDEX. 


Incidents  of  Centennial,  90. 
Incorporation  of  Lee,  53-128. 
Indian  Occupants,  121-124. 
Indian  Titles,  119. 
Indian  Tribes,  118. 
Industries  of  Early  Times,  275. 
Ingersoll,  Rev.  Dr.  E.,  85. 
Ingersoll,  David,  302. 
Ingersoll,  M.  J.,  310. 
Ingersoll,  William,  47-147-163. 
Inscription  on  Tablets,  344. 
Iron-works,  278. 
Ives,  I.  C,  309. 
Ives,  Oliver,  309. 


Jenkins,  E.,  308. 
Jones,  E.  D.,  302. 
Judd,  T.  M.,  324. 
Justices,  342. 


K 


Kellogg,  Jeptha,  166. 
Kellogg,  L.  S.,  312. 
Kilbon,  J  L.,  4-332. 
Kimball,  A.,  14. 
Kimball,  Miss  L.,  14. 


Labor,  Wages  of,  231. 

Ladies'  Soldiers  Aid  Society,  170. 

Laflin,  A.  H.,  36. 

Lafiin,  Miss  C,  36. 

Laflin,  Loomis  &  Co.,  284. 

Laflin,  W.  W.  &  O,  290. 

Landers,  Captain  J.,  226-333. 

Landmarks,  116. 

Larrabee's  Grant,  56-131. 

Larrabee,  J ,  56-132. 

Laurel  Lake,  116. 

Lawyers,  321. 

Lee,    Town    of,   52-53-58-1 1 1-1 14-136- 

139-146. 
Lee,  Gen.  Charles,  136. 
Lee  Home  Companion,  319. 
Lee  &  Hudson  Railroad,  269. 
Lee  &  New  Haven  Railroad,  267. 
Library,  First  Town,  331. 
Library  Association,  334. 
Lime-Kilns,  279. 
Limestone,  114. 
Linn  &  Smith,  300. 
Lockhart,  C.  T.,  335. 
Lottery,  135. 
Lumber  Business,  305. 


Marshal  of  the  Day,  81. 

Marsh,  Rev.  Dr.,  239. 

McAllister,  Dr.  Charles,  329. 

McAllister,  Dr.  George,  181. 

McLaughlin,  John,  288. 

May,  E.  S.,  298. 

May,  S.  S.,  298. 

May,  E.  &  S.,  298. 

May  &  Rogers,  298. 

May,  Charles,  37. 

Matthews,  S  ,  14. 

Meat  Business,  306. 

Meeting  House,  227. 

Memorial  Hall,  183-184-185. 

Meomrial  Tablets,  184. 

Mechanical  Industries,  313. 

Merchants,  307. 

Merrill,  William,  148-321. 

Merrill,  C.  G.,  312. 

Merrill,  J.  T.  &  Co.,  312. 

Methodist  Church,  241-242-243. 

Militia,  165-166. 

Miller,  Major  Adam,  180. 

Mineralogy,  114. 

Minister's  Grant,  55. 

Morals,  168-271. 

Morgan,  Edward,  320. 

Morgan,  Rev.  H.  A.,  248. 

Morgan,  Lieut.  P.  W.,  171. 

Morgan  House,  320. 

Moore,  E.  E.,  181. 

Morey,  Captain  B.  A  ,  170-172-179. 

Mountain  Mill,  297. 

Mount  Ephraim,  120-207. 

Murray  &  Dowd,  301. 


N 


M 


Marble,  57-115-302. 
Manufactures,  167. 


National  History,  60. 
Nationalities,  73. 
Natural  Products,  56. 
Neighborhood,  197. 
Nesl.ett,  Mrs.  H,  91. 
New  England  Mill,  297. 
Next  Century,  70 
Nordell,  Rev.  P.  A.,  245. 
Northrup,  J.  M.,  311. 
Norton,  Thomas,  320. 
Nye,  John,  63-164. 
Nye,  John,  Jr.,  309. 


Occupation  of  First  Settlers,  276. 

Ode  by  E   W.  B.  Canning,  42. 

Officials,  List  of,  339-340-341. 

Officers,  First,  147. 

Officers  of  High-School  Alumni,  i 

Old  and  New  Compared,  72. 

Oman,  T.  A.,  312. 

Orator  of  the  Day,  83. 

Organ,  226. 

Ostrander,  Rev.  A.,  241. 

Owen,  C.  M..  294. 


INDEX. 


351 


Owen  &  Hurlbut,  295-312. 
Owen  Paper  Co.,  296. 


Palmer,  W.  P.,  75-76. 

Paper  Bonnets,  283. 

Paper  Mills,  70-288. 

Parmelee,  Rev.  E.,  64-209. 

Parsons,  Eli,  157. 

Parsonage,  235. 

Parish  Expenses,  238. 

Partridge,  O.,  55. 

Party  Peeling  in  1812,  163. 

Patterson,  General,  157. 

Pease,  Capt.  F.  W.,  171-175-177-181. 

Percival,  James,  146. 

Perkins,  G.  F.,  38-335. 

Perry,  Arthur,  186. 

Perry,  Miss  J.,  14. 

Perry,  J.  B.,  309-329. 

Perry,  Hull  &  Co.,  306. 

Peter's  Cave,  60-159. 

Petersburg,  178. 

Pew  Spots,  228. 

Phelps,  G.  H.,  311-317-330. 

Phelps,  H.  C,  317. 

Phelps  &  Hill.  310. 

Physicians,  324. 

Pierce,  Miss  J.,  14. 

Pillions,  187. 

Pixley  Mountain,  142. 

Pixley,  Reuben,  57-147-186. 

Pittsfield  &  Stockbridge  Railroad,  266 

Platner,  G.  W.,  292. 

Platner  &  Smith,  292. 

Platner  &  Porter,  310. 

Plunkett,  Gen.  W.  C,  83. 

Poem,  Mr.  Palmer's,  76. 

Poem,  Mr.  Babcock's,  86. 

Police  Court,  342, 

Population,  345. 

Porter,  William,  322. 

Porter  &  Chamberlin,  323. 

Porter,  Miss  C,  33-36. 

Porter,  Capt.  A.,  152-154. 

Porter,  Capt.  D.,  165. 

Postage,  326. 

Postmasters,  329. 

Potash,  279. 

Potter,  Rev.  C.  W.,  247. 

Pottery,  278. 

Pot  Furnace,  279. 

Powder  Mills,  284. 

Prefatory  Note,  109. 

Presidents  of  Lee  Bank,  332. 

Printing,  318. 

Probate  Courts,  156. 

Proprietors'  Rights,  125. 

Public  Houses,  320. 


Rag  Engines,  301. 
Rain-fall,  116. 


Reception  Committee,  98. 
Records,  Old,  128. 
Red  Lion  Hotel,  58-145. 
Regiment,  37th,  171-175. 
Regiment,  49th,  179. 
Representatives,  List  of,  339. 
Republicans,  162. 
Resolutions  of,  1861-2,  169-170. 
Reunion  Address,  11. 
Revolutionary  Pensioners,  155. 
Revolutionary  Period,  148. 
Rice,  Abner,  8-15. 
Rice,  Miss  C.  G.,  16. 
Roads,  120-261. 
Robinson,  G.  A.,  84. 
Rockwell  &  Hill,  319. 
Rogers,  S.  S.,  288. 
Roll  of  Honor,  343. 
Rowland,  Rev.  L.  S.,  221. 
Royce,  E.  A.  &  Co.,  287. 
Royce,  J.  A.,  319. 


Sabbath,  Observance  of,  197. 

Sabin,  Henry  &  Co.,  310. 

Sargent,  Dr.  E  ,  157-324. 

Savings  Bank,  332. 

Saylor's  Creek,  Battle  of,  178. 

Seaver,  Rev.  J.  H.,  248. 

School  Appropriations,  254. 

School  Committee,  253. 

School  Districts,  253. 

School-Houses,  255. 

Selectmen,  List  of,  339. 

Sextons,  237. 

Shannon,  Capt.  A.  V.,  172-179-333. 

Shaylor,  P.  M.,  306. 

Shays'  Rebellion,  59-156. 

Shores,  N.  W.,  324. 

Show-Boxes,  233. 

Singing,  225. 

Slocum,  E.  T.,  324. 

Small-pox,  188. 

Smith,  Elizur,  4-39-291-335. 

Smith,  Lt.  DeWitt  S.,  179-293. 

Smith,  Henrv,  167. 

Smith,  Miss  M.  A.,  15. 

Smith,  J.  R.,  310. 

Smith,  Rev.  Ralph,  218. 

Smith,  Wellington,  81-293-335. 

Smith  Paper  Co.,  291. 

Smith  &  Bosworth,  311-313. 

Social  Life,  185-200. 

Social  Progress,  74'. 

Society  for  Good  Morals,  330. 

Soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  150-174. 

Soldiers,  List  of  those  who  Died,  343. 

South  Lee  High  School,  19. 

Sparks,  Mrs.  A.  C,  7. 

Sparks,  Lt.  A.  C,  177. 

Sparks  &  Casey,  309. 

Spencer,  Josiah,  316. 

Stanley  Samuel,  186. 


352 


INDEX. 


State  Constitution,  160. 
State  Conventions,  161-2. 
Statistics,  337-339-340-341-345. 
Sterns,  Simon,  314. 
Stillman,  George,  317. 
Stockbridge  Indians,  127. 
Stone-Cutting,  316. 
Sturgis,  Edward,  317. 
Sturgis,  Franklin,  323. 
Sturgis,  Thomas,  316. 
Sturgis,  Samuel,  321. 
Sturgis,  William,  316. 
Stratton,  Dr.  C.  W.,  329. 
Subscription  for  Bounties,  173. 
Sunday-School,  223. 
Sutherland,  J.  W.,  38. 
Swords,  Presentation  of,  172. 


Tailoresses,  193. 
Tanner,  E.  P.,  286. 
Tanner  &  Perkins,  287. 
Tanning,  277. 
Taylor,  Abner,  315. 
Taylor,  William,  4-43-309-31  l 
Taylor,  Rev.  Dr.  E.,  34-85. 
Taylor,  Charles,  335. 
Taylor  &  Averill,  311. 
Temperance,  168-272. 
Tender  Act,  156. 
Thatcher,  Stephen,  33-282. 
Thatcher,  T  D.,  35. 
Thatcher,  Timothy,  186. 
Thatcher,  Roland,  231. 
Thatcher,  Jethro,  317. 
Thayer,  Dr.  N.,  325. 
Thompson,  Dr.  G.,  324. 
Tories,  155. 
Tourgee,  Judge,  38. 
Town  Clocks,  235. 
Town  Clerks,  List  of,  339. 
Town-Meetings.  58-69-233. 
Town -Poor,  270. 
Town  Pound,  189. 
Tracey,  Ruth,  45. 
Traditions,  143. 
Trade,  Divisions  of,  313. 
Training  Days,  63-165. 
Traveling,  Mode  of,  194. 
Tremain,  N,  312-321. 
Turnpikes,  262-264. 
Turning  Shops,  282. 


Valley  Gleaner,  319. 
Valley  Guards,  169. 
Van  Deusen  M.,  126. 
Visitors  at  Centennial,  List  of, 
Volunteers,  173. 
Voters.  No.  of,  345. 
Votes  for  Governor,  339. 

W 

Ward,  Capt.  P.,  180. 
War  of  1812,  62-163. 
War  of  Secession,  169. 
Warren,  Mrs.,  Sons  of,  173. 
Water- Wheels,  302. 
Water  Witch  Engine,  273. 
Watson's  Grant,  53. 
Weekly  Visitor,  318. 
Welch,  Dr.  A.  G.,  327. 
West,  Oliver,  92-208. 
West,  P.,  136. 
West,  E.,  136. 
Whelpley,  Samuel,  132. 
Whipping-Post,  148. 
Whiton,  Gen.  Joseph,  164. 
Whiton,  James,  279-296-312. 
Whiton,  E.  V.,  322,  331. 
Whiting,  Dr.  J.  B.,  328. 
Whyte  &  Hulbert,  291. 
Wight,  Miss  I.  S.,  16. 
Wilcox,  Marshall,  91-323. 
Wilcox,  Peter,  158. 
Wilcox,  Ozias,  160. 
Wilcox,  Dr.  D.  M  ,  329. 
Wilde,  W.  P.,  302-304. 
Williams,  Pol    K.,  54-129. 
Williams'  Grant,  54-129. 
Winegar,  John,  140-141-185. 
Winegar,  Capt.  Z  ,  167. 
Winegar,  H.  C.  &  Son,  320. 
Wood,  W.  B.,  335. 
Woodbridsje,  T.,  55. 
Wooden  Clocks.  191. 
Woolen  Manufacturers,  281. 
Wormer,  A.,  141. 
Wright,  Dr.  E.,  329-330. 


Yale,  Josiah,  45-47-57-152. 

Yokun-town,  120. 

Young  Men's  Association,  3 


